Downtown Phoenix feels economic boost of national collegiate spotlight
By Terrance Thornton | Digital Free Press
While the NCAA Men’s Final Four and NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship was hosted at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, municipalities across the Valley hosted fan fest events, challenges and a free concert with headlining acts such as The Jonas Brothers and The Black Keys.
The city of Phoenix was no exception, City Hall leaders report.
“Just two weeks ago greater Phoenix hosted the Final Four for the second time since 2017,” said Phoenix Deputy City Manager John Chan of the “success and outcomes” of ancillary events hosted around the national collegiate event.
“March Madness concluded with the final game between Purdue and UConn at State Farm Stadium being the third highest attended championship game in NCAA history.”
Phoenix City Council heard from City Hall leaders during its April 23 policy session where Mr. Chan explained downtown Phoenix was abuzz with energy surrounding events for the recently held NCAA Men’s Final Four.
From April 5-8, 2024, the Greater Phoenix region hosted the NCAA Men’s Final Four for the second time.
While State Farm Stadium in Glendale served as the venue for the semi-final and championship games, officials at City Hall say downtown Phoenix was the “epicenter” of fan-related activities and ancillary events in early April.
Phoenix offered municipal venues including the Phoenix Convention Center, Margaret T. Hance Park and Heritage Square whereas City Hall leaders say more than 300,000 people came to events hosted within Phoenix municipal bounds.
City Hall leaders point out hosting a major event is a monumental endeavor highlighting the efforts of an internal steering committee comprised of leadership representing aviation, City Clerk, communications, community and economic development, fire, parks and recreation, Phoenix Convention Center, planning and development, police, public transit, public works and street transportation departments.
“I think it worth noting prior to 2017 the last time that this event was held this far west was in 1995 when it was held at the Seattle Kingdome,” said Jerry Harper, Phoenix Convention Center director. “It has been very rare for an event of this magnitude associated with NCAA to come this far west — it really is a testament to the team we have here together and how we are able to facilitate such a successful event.”
Downtown Phoenix feels economic boost of national collegiate spotlight
Mr. Harper along with Eric George, Phoenix major events administrator, reported attendance numbers for ancillary events held in conjunction with the NCAA Men’s Final Four Week. Events included:
- The Final Four dribble challenge drew 3,000 youth participants;
- The March Madness Music Festival drew 67,451 attendees;
- The Final Four Fan fest drew 52,283 attendees;
- The Final Four Friday fan event drew 10,983 attendees;
- The Final Four tip-off tailgate drew 102,137 attendees; and
- The Final Four reading initiative saw 20,154,704 pages read.
In addition to local attendance, Mr. Harper offered tallies for broadcasting and streaming numbers for the semifinal games and national championship. Those numbers are:
- A total of 14.8 million viewers watched the national championship on broadcast television.
- A total of 1.5 million people streamed over the internet the national championship game.
- A total of 25.6 million people combined watched the two semifinal games on broadcast television.
Mr. Harper pointed out return on investment realized by local hoteliers because of hosting the events surrounding the NCAA Men’s Final Four.
“Friday through Monday [April 5 through April 8] year-over-year occupancy was up in downtown hotels 61 percent,” he said. “And ADR was up a whopping 115% and if that sounds impressive; RevPar, which is revenue per available room, was up 240% year over year — That is significant.”
Mr. Harper says the week of Final Four events is a one-of-a-kind promotional opportunity for Phoenix, and the Valley of the Sun.
“The amount of reach and value for that week-long commercial is almost immeasurable,” he said. “I really think credit is due to the convention center’s marketing team and the city’s communications team.”
Mr. George explained to Phoenix City Council during the April 23 policy session discussion the national championship game saw the third largest crowd ever at State Farm Stadium earlier this month.
“It was the third highest in championship game history in terms of 74,000-plus fans at that game,” he said. “The second highest was when it was held here in the valley on 2017.”
