First Detailed Numbers Released on Super Bowl Costs

Shortly after the Super Bowl, I wrote about the possibility for Indianapolis to get an ROI on their hosting of Super Bowl XVI.  The newest report on the cost associated with that event seem to make the possibility of an ROI more plausible.

According to a Sunday Star article by Jon Murray, the CIB now believes its loss from hosting the Super Bowl will be approximately $350,000.  Previous estimates had that number as high as $800,000.

From that article:

The Capital Improvement Board says it spent just over $3 million on items ranging from labor to service contracts to equipment for snow removal -- a precaution that, because of balmy weather, didn't end up being needed.

But reimbursements from the National Football League and its contractors, already mostly in, are expected to offset nearly $2.7 million of that.

That leaves about $350,000 that will be footed by the CIB's budget -- better than the $810,000 loss that was projected based on estimates compiled last summer.

Indianapolis did a spectacular job hosting the Super Bowl.  That $350,000 has the possibility to be easily made up through the extra revenue brought in over the next several years should Indy's convention business get a significant spike due to it.

I fear, though, that readers of the Star's article will reach the conclusion that the CIB was the only organization that spent significant money to host the Big Game.  Several other significant expenses, such as the Georgia Street project, would never have been incurred were we not hosting the Super Bowl.  Those expenses need to be included in the total profit/loss statement for the city.  As I stated in my previous article, we are unlikely to ever have the complete expense of hosting the Super Bowl revealed to us.