Super Bowl Economic Impact on New Orleans
This year, Super Bowl LIX will be held at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. It has been 12 years since the city hosted the game, and it will be the 11th Super Bowl played in New Orleans. The game will also mark the second time the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs face off since Super Bowl LVII in 2023. New Orleans remains a favorable destination for travelers, due to its attractions and events like Mardi Gras. With a strong influx of tourists, tourism contributes 40% of its tax revenues to the city.
Super Bowl Impact
- $500M+ In Revenue
- 125,000 Visitors
- 5,000+ Jobs Created
New Orleans Overall Economy
New Orleans Fast Facts
- Population: 357,767
- Unemployment Rate: 4.3%
- Average Household Income: $84,158
While tourism is still strong, hotels in New Orleans began to record decreased performance activity throughout 2024. The slowdown in the city’s performance can be attributed to oversupply and renovated hotels. There were 161 rooms added to the market during 2024, and 900 rooms were renovated. The CBD/French Quarter area saw the most new supply as 700 rooms opened here. As a result of new additions, ADR only grew by 1.3% over the last 12 months.
Due to the city’s variety of events this year, RevPAR and ADR are forecast to rise by 5.9% and 5.6%, respectively. Specifically for the Super Bowl, the city is projected to record more than $500 million in its economic activity. This is due to an expected 200,000 visitors coming to attend the Super Bowl, which is around twice as many visitors that would arrive in the city on a normal basis.
Super Bowl LIX will also aid the city’s employment sector, due to the variety of events that are related to the game. This uptick in employment occurred during the past two Super Bowl games held in Las Vegas and Phoenix. Las Vegas reported spending $230 million in employee wages when it hosted last year, with Phoenix recording employment spiking at 42,700 for Super Bowl LVII in 2023.
Super Bowl Economic Impact Across the U.S.
Across the country, forecasts expect Americans to spend $142 on Super Bowl LIX, which is 22% more than 2024. A survey by the National Retail Federation predicts that Americans will spend $17.3 billion in total on the Super Bowl. This includes purchases of food and drinks for Super Bowl parties.
Specifically for Americans hosting Super Bowl gatherings, costs are up for food and drinks. A forecast by BizInsure predicts that hosts will spend $215 on party essentials, which is $25 more than 2024. Markets in the South are predicted to spend the highest amount of their income on hosting Super Bowl events. Specifically, Tampa and Atlanta are in the top Southern markets for spending.
This year, Americans are expected to bet $1.39 billion on the Super Bowl, according to the American Gaming Association (AGA). This is a large decrease from last year when the AGA projected betting at $23.1 billion. The drop in its projection is due to the AGA only including legal sports betting in its forecasts.
In prior years, the AGA included unregulated and casual betting in its predictions. The organization will only include legal betting moving forward in order to align with legal obligations. However, the AGA’s projection for this year’s game is still greater than the $1.25 billion Eilers & Krejcik, a gambling and research company, forecast for legal betting for the game in 2024.
