A Bureau of Business Research Report
From the University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The 2013-14 Economic Impact of the University
of Nebraska Department of Athletics
Final Report
Prepared for
The University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
Prepared by
Dr. Eric Thompson, Director and Associate Professor
Shannon McClure, Graduate Research Assistant
November 24, 2014
Bureau of Business Research
Department of Economics
College of Business Administration
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Dr. Eric Thompson, Director
Executive Summary
This report by the UNL Bureau of Business Research estimates the economic impact of
Nebraska Athletics during the 2013-2014 fiscal year. Key findings of the study are
summarized below.
Economic Impact on the Lincoln Metropolitan Area
Nebraska Athletics has a substantial impact on the local economy. The department
expends millions of dollars each year toward salaries, benefits, business purchases,
capital expenditures and student tuition and housing. Fans attending Nebraska Athletics
home events also contribute to the Lincoln economy with purchases at local restaurants,
hotels, retail stores, gasoline service stations and other business activities on game
days. The overall annual economic impact on the Lincoln Metropolitan Area during the
2013-14 fiscal year is estimated to be:




$245.5 million in output
$87.0 million in worker income
3,420 jobs (one-fourth of which are Athletics Department event staff, concession
staff and other on-call temporary jobs)
$936,000 in direct sales tax revenue for the City of Lincoln
Statewide Economic Impact
Nebraska Athletics also has a substantial economic impact on the State of Nebraska. The
overall annual economic impact on the State of Nebraska during the 2013-14 fiscal year
is estimated to be $149.5 million in output; $54.7 million in worker income; 1,890 jobs,
and $2,351,000 in direct sales tax revenue for state and local government. The statewide
economic impact of Nebraska Athletics, however, is less than the economic impact on the
Lincoln Metropolitan Area because many of the fans who attend Husker games/events
are from other parts of the state. These fans bring new spending to the Lincoln
Metropolitan Area economy, but not to the state of Nebraska economy.
Growth in the Economic Impact between 2004-05 and 2013-14
Economic impact estimates for the 2013-14 fiscal year are substantially higher than
economic impacts measured nearly a decade ago in an earlier study of Nebraska Athletics
by the UNL Bureau of Business Research. That earlier report covering the 2004-05 fiscal
year examined a somewhat smaller group of University sports teams, but the results are
broadly comparable to the current study, excluding capital expenditures. Results do
reflect that the University of Nebraska football team typically plays more home football
games than it did a decade ago.
 Excluding capital expenditures, the current overall economic impact for the 201314 fiscal year is 81% greater than the impact for the 2004-05 fiscal year.
 Excluding capital expenditures, the current economic impact measured in worker
income is 72% greater than the impact during the 2004-05 fiscal year.
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
i

Both growth rates are much higher than the 22% inflation rate between 2004-05
and 2013-14. Most of the increase is the result of a real increase in economic
activity.
Impact on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Nebraska Athletics had expenditures of $94.3 million during the 2013-2014
year. Nebraska Athletics is a major consumer of UNL services. In fact, payments by
Nebraska Athletics to other units of UNL account for $16.2 million of the $93.4 budget,
or 17 percent. Prominent examples of campus expenditures include: tuition, fees, books
and housing for student-athletes; payments to the university band and faculty advisors;
maintenance and grounds-keeping services; and auxiliary overhead payments.
Impact of Media Coverage
Impressions of Nebraska generated by media coverage can be generally monetized by
considering how much it would cost to achieve the same number of impressions through
paid advertising, otherwise known as Ad Value Equivalence (AVE) Modeling. Broadcast
of Nebraska Athletics sporting events and channel promotions of these broadcasts, would
have easily resulted in the millions of dollars promotion, based on Ad Value Equivalence.
Economic Impact from Recent Capital Expenditure
A number of Nebraska Athletics’ major capital expenditure projects have been completed
in Lincoln in recent years, not just during 2013-14. These projects (including Lincoln’s
Pinnacle Bank Arena, Memorial Stadium expansion and Bob Devaney Sports Center
renovation) have a substantial economic impact on the Lincoln Metropolitan Area
economy. The economic impact of these capital expenditure projects in recent years is
estimated to be:



$169.7 million in output
$70.7 million in worker income
1,570 job-years
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
ii
The 2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska
Department of Athletics
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Table of Contents
List of Tables and Figures
i
iii
iv
I. Introduction
1
II. Total Revenue
A. Department of Athletics Expenditure and Revenue and Related Revenue
i. Payments to Other Units of the University of Nebraska
ii. Related Revenue
B. Off-Site Fan Spending
i. Off-Site Fan Spending Football Only
ii. Off-Site Fan Spending for Other Sports
C. Overall Revenue for Department of Athletics and Off-Site Fan Spending
2
2
3
3
4
6
7
7
III. Economic Impact
A. Impact of Department of Athletics Operations
i. Direct Impact
ii. Multiplier Impact and Total Impact
B. Impact of Off-Site Fan Spending
i. Direct Impact
ii. Multiplier Effect and Total Impact
C. Economic Impact from Capital Expenditure
D. Overall Economic Impact
9
9
9
11
12
12
13
13
14
IV. Economic Impact on State of Nebraska
A. Impact of Department of Athletics Operations
B. Impact of Off-Site Fans Spending
C. Overall Economic Impact
15
15
16
17
V. Impact of Media Coverage
A. Television and Radio
B. New Media
C. Conclusion
17
17
21
22
VI. The Cumulative Economic Impact from Recent Capital Expenditure
22
VII. Summary
23
Appendix A: About the Bureau of Business Research and Key Personnel
25
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
iii
List of Tables and Figures
Figure 1. Department of Athletics Revenue 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
Table 1.
2
Department of Athletics Payments to Other Units of the University of
Nebraska by Type 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
3
Table 2.
Attendance at Home Games by Sport during the 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
5
Table 3.
Estimated Fan Spending for University of Nebraska Home Football
Games 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
6
Table 4.
Estimated Fan Spending for University of Nebraska Home Sporting Events
In Other Sports 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
8
Table 5.
Overall Revenue for Department of Athletics and Off-Site Fan Spending
2013-2014 Fiscal Year
Figure 2. Basic Approach to Economic Impact
Table 6.
Table 7.
8
10
Economic Impact of Department of Athletics Spending on the Lincoln
Metropolitan Area 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
11
Economic Impact of Off-Site Fan Spending at Home Sporting Events
on the Lincoln Metropolitan Area 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
13
Table 8.
Economic Impact of Department of Athletics Capital Expenditure Projects 14
Table 9.
Overall Economic Impact of Department of Athletics Operation, Fan
Spending and Capital Expenditure on the Lincoln Metropolitan Area
2013-2014 Fiscal Year
15
Table 10. Economic Impact of Department of Athletics Spending on the State of
Nebraska 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
16
Table 11. Economic Impact of Off-Site Fan Spending at Home Sporting Events
on the State of Nebraska 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
16
Table 12. Overall Economic Impact of Department of Athletics, Fans and Capital
Expenditure on the State of Nebraska 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
17
Table 13. Network Coverage of Sporting Events 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
19
Table 14. Fiscal Year 2013-2014 Television Viewership Numbers, ESPN and ABC
20
Table 15. All Network Broadcasts
21
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
iv
Table 16. Cumulative Economic Impact of Recent Department of Athletics
Capital Expenditure Projects
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
23
v
I. Introduction
Major university athletic programs have a substantial economic impact on their
home cities and states. The excitement of competition and the accomplishments of
university teams contribute to the quality of life in the community. The University of
Nebraska Department of Athletics teams provide a recreation and entertainment
opportunity which, for many people, makes Lincoln and Nebraska a more positive place
to live. Lincoln also benefits from public awareness of the city generated by the
appearance of Cornhusker teams in approximately 100 national and regional televised
games per year.
There is, however, an additional economic impact from university athletic
programs in the form of the new jobs and expenditure these programs bring to an area.
First, there is substantial local employment and expenditures associated with
administering athletic programs and hosting games. Further, spending outside the
stadium, arena, or ballpark brings customers to restaurants, retail stores, parking facilities,
and hotels. These expenditures create an economic impact in local communities and
states where universities are located. Such impacts also are found here in the Lincoln
Metropolitan Area and in Nebraska. The impact will vary from year to year depending on
the number of home games, attendance levels, ticket prices, capital expenditures, the
origin of fans, and average spending by fans, among other factors. These sources of
revenue generate a direct impact on the Lincoln Metropolitan Area and Nebraska
economy. Beyond these direct economic impacts, there is also a “multiplier” impact that
occurs as money circulates further within the economy; for example when employees of
the Department of Athletics spend their wages at local businesses. The total economic
impact is the sum of the direct economic impact and the multiplier impact.
This study by the UNL Bureau of Business Research examines the economic
impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics during the 2013-14 fiscal
year. The study updates an earlier Bureau study which analyzed the department’s
economic impact during 2004-05 fiscal year. The study examines the economic impact
from three broad categories of revenue. The first category is the annual operating revenue
of Nebraska Athletics. The second is revenue used to support capital expenditure projects
on Nebraska Athletics facilities. The third is the revenue earned by hospitality business
from the off-site spending of fans attending Nebraska Athletics games/events. The study
does not take into account the spending of fans who are in Lincoln but do not go to the
game. Since Nebraska has an ongoing NCAA record sellouts in football dating back to
1962, many fans come to Lincoln on game day, but do not have tickets to attend the
game. The spending of these fans are not counted in this study.
Beyond direct impacts, this study estimates the multiplier and total economic
impact of Nebraska Athletics. The study also considers the implicit value of
advertisement for Nebraska and the City of Lincoln due to broadcasts of Nebraska
Athletics games and sporting events.
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
1
II. Total Revenue
There are three primary sources of revenue associated with Nebraska Athletics.
The first is the direct operational revenue of the department. The second is the revenue
that supports capital expenditure projects. The third is revenue earned by hospitality
businesses from the off-site spending of fans attending sporting events. This includes
revenue at restaurants, gasoline stations, hotels, retail stores, and other businesses. There
is also off-site spending from fans who come to Lincoln on game days but do not attend
the game. However, this business revenue is not reflected in the current report.
A. Department of Athletics Expenditure and Revenue and Related Revenue
Nebraska Athletics had annual revenue of $92.6 million dollars during the
recently completed 2013-2014 fiscal year, after remitting $3.2 million in state and local
sales taxes. As seen in Figure 1, revenue sources include ticket sales (43%), distributions
from the Big Ten and NCAA (17%), sponsorship and rights payments (15%), gifts (13%)
and business enterprises (13%). Note that ticket revenue was aided because there were 8
home football games (typically there are 7) during the 2013 season.
Expenditures went to a variety of purposes. These purposes included employee
wages and benefits, team travel, debt services, marketing, expenses related to game day,
and recruiting prospective student-athletes. That figure includes $33.8 million in
department and event staff wages, salaries, and benefits paid to 326 full-time athletic
department staff, 13 part-time staff, 616 part-time student workers, and 897 event staff,
and concessions staff and other on-call temporary workers.
Figure 1
Department of Athletics Revenue 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
Business
Enterprises
(13%)
Sponsorships &
Rights (15%)
Ticket Sales (43%)
Gift Funds (13%)
Big Ten
Conference &
NCAA (17%)
Source: University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
2
i. Payments to Other Units of the University of Nebraska
Nebraska Athletics expenditures occur at other units of the University of
Nebraska. In other words, the department is a major consumer of University of Nebraska
services. Prominent examples include tuition, fees, books, and housing for studentathletes, the university band, faculty advisors, and maintenance and grounds-keeping
services. The department also makes an auxiliary overhead payment to the University of
Nebraska. Expenditures by category are listed in Table 1 below.
Table 1
Department of Athletics Payments to Other Units of the University of Nebraska
by Type 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
Description
Amount
Tuition, fees, books, housing for student athletes
$7.3 million
Payments to other campus units for services (i.e., printing,
custodial, UNL Police, transportation services, copier services,
Facilities maintenance)
$1.9 million
Pass through payments (i.e., telephones, utilities, mail)
$2.6 million
Auxiliary overhead (support for campus administrative services
such as legal, accounting)
$3.5 million
Payments to underwrite expenses of other UNL units that
pertain to athletics (i.e., band, faculty advisors, and counselors)
$0.9 million
Total
$16.2 million
Source: University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
Payments by the department to other units of the University of Nebraska account
for $16.2 million of $94.3 million in total annual Department of Athletics expenditure, or
17% of the total. It should be noted that the department also has helped pay for a number
of buildings on campus available for general student body use such as Cook Pavilion, the
Recreation Center and the Schorr Center for Computer Science and Engineering.
Nebraska Athletics also does not receive any University subsidies or state tax dollars.
ii. Related Revenue
There are two additional sources of revenue which are related to Nebraska
Athletics activities. The first is revenue from hosting sports camps. There was revenue of
$1.93 million from hosting camps in the Lincoln area during the most recently completed
fiscal year. The second is the net sales earned by Husker IMG Sports Marketing beyond
its $8.204 million multimedia rights payment to Nebraska Athletics (that payment was
included under Sponsorships & Rights in Figure 1). Both the gross and net revenues have
been considered in assessing the economic impact of Nebraska Athletics.
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
3
B. Off-Site Fan Spending
More than 1.5 million fans attend Nebraska Athletics home games on an annual
basis. Each year approximately 700,000 to 800,000 attend home football games in
Memorial Stadium, with attendance varying based on the number of home games
scheduled. Off-site fan spending at these games generates substantial revenue for
restaurants, hotels, retail stores, and gasoline stations. Much of this spending by fans
occurs outside of the stadium or arena and is not captured in department revenue. This
section of the report estimates such off-site fan expenditure.
The magnitude of this fan spending is driven by two factors: 1) total attendance at
games, and 2) the level of spending per fan.
Total Attendance. Nebraska Athletics provided information on attendance at home
games during the 2013-2014 seasons. Attendance for the 10 sports, where
attendance information was available, is listed below in Table 2. Note that
attendance figures for football are based on 8 home games in the fall regular
season plus the Spring Game (61,800 in attendance in spring 2014).
Spending Per Fan. The Bureau of Business Research estimated fan spending using a
survey of fans. The department provided the Bureau of Business Research with
email addresses for ticket purchasers for multiple games or meets for each sport.
An email survey was conducted of these fans after each game or meet. A copy of
the survey is available upon request. The survey included four questions about
types and amounts of spending and what percentage of that spending occurred in
Lincoln and in Nebraska. Two questions inquired about buyer motivation for
attendance and whether the buyer’s reported spending would have been spent in
Nebraska even if the event had not occurred. The number of games surveyed for
each sport and the average number surveyed per game were: 4 football games at
487 fans per game, 6 men’s basketball games at 485 fans per game, 4 women’s
basketball games at 482 fans per game, 5 volleyball games with 577 fans per
game, 6 men’s baseball games with 482 fans per game, 4 women’s softball games
with 98 fans per game, 3 men’s gymnastics meets with 28 fans per meet, 4
women’s gymnastics meets with 80 fans per meet, and 2 wrestling matches with
23 fans per match. The average response rate of fans was 24.5%.
Survey responses were used to estimate average spending per fan. The survey asked
for the zip code of all ticket purchasers. The survey also asked whether fans actually
attended the game, in order to adjust for ticket purchasers who may have given away or
sold their ticket for a particular game. Table 2 reports the total attendance at games by
sport as well as information on the origin of fans based on the survey. In particular, Table
2 reports the share of visitors who reported a zip code indicating that the visitor lives
outside of the Lincoln Metropolitan Area. Note that attendance at football games was
larger than the combined attendance at the games, meets and matches of other sports.
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
4
Respondents were then asked to indicate how many people were in their traveling
party and their party’s spending for the game, meet, or match for food, lodging, retail,
gasoline, and other entertainment. This information helps determine whether the fan offsite spending became revenue for Lincoln businesses or Nebraska business. Total
spending by fans in Lincoln, as reported by respondents, was divided by the total number
of fans to yield average spending per game, meet, or match. This per fan spending was
estimated for 4 separate categories: all fans from the Lincoln Metropolitan Area, all fans
from outside of the Lincoln Metropolitan Area, all fans from Nebraska and all fans from
outside of Nebraska.
Table 2
Attendance at Home Games by Sport during the 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
Total Attendance
at Home Games
Share in Attendance from
Outside the Lincoln
Metropolitan Area
Football
789,238
69%
Men’s Basketball
246,702
44%
Women’s Basketball
110,892
36%
Volleyball
163,567
47%
Baseball
81,044
50%
Softball
13,486
49%
Men’s Gymnastics
2,300
48%
Women’s Gymnastics
10,636
50%
Wrestling
11,958
85%
Soccer
4,680
61%
Sport
Source: Attendance from the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics and Shares
from the BBR survey
Table 2 shows attendance at football games as well as at the events of other
sports, where available. The table, however, does not include that portion of visitors to
these events who do not actually attend the event itself. There may be a significant
number of such visitors, particularly for football games, given the popularity of
tailgating. For example, for college football games, estimates from other campuses of the
number of tailgate-only visitors vary widely, accounting for 10 percent to 35 percent of
all event visitors, with around one third of tailgate-only event visitors coming from
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
5
outside of the local area.1 This implies that the economic impact from tailgaters and
others who visit the area but do not attend games is potentially significant; however, it is
beyond the scope of the current study, especially given the difficultly in accurately
measuring the number of tailgate-only visitors, and in determining the share of their
purchases which occur in the Lincoln Metropolitan Area.
i. Off-Site Fan Spending Football Only
With football accounting for more than half of total attendance, the total off-site
spending of football fans is reported in Table 3. Fan spending estimates are presented for
the major spending categories of food, lodging, retail, gasoline, and parking.
Table 3
Estimated Fan Spending for University of Nebraska Home Football Games
2013-2014 Fiscal Year
Type of
Spending
Fans from
Outside the Lincoln
Metropolitan Area
Fans from
Inside the Lincoln
Metropolitan Area
All Fans
Spending
per Fan
Spending
(544,000 Fans)
Spending
Per Fan
Spending
(245,000 Fans)
Spending
(789,000 Fans)
Food
$23.36
$12.7 million
$21.08
$5.2 million
$17.9 million
Shopping
$9.81
$5.3 million
$4.00
$1.0 million
$6.3 million
Transportation
$18.00
$9.8 million
$8.38
$2.1 million
$11.8 million
Recreation
$4.12
$2.2 million
$3.41
$0.8 million
$3.1 million
Lodging
$12.11
$6.6 million
$1.70
$0.4 million
$7.0 million
Miscellaneous
$1.59
$0.9 million
$1.13
$0.3 million
$1.1 million
Gross Total
$68.99
$37.5 million
$39.70
$9.7 million
$47.3 million
Adjustment for
Concessions
-$3.0 million
-$1.4 million
-$4.4 million
Total
$34.5 million
$8.3 million
$42.9 million
Source: BBR calculations.
1
Brown, Matthew and Andy Gillentine, 2011. Underestimating Economic Impact: An Analysis of
Overlooked Event Attendees. Presented at the 19th Conference of the European Association for Sports
Management, Madrid, Spain.
Gillentine, Andy, John Miller and Bryan Crow, 2010. “Essential Components of a ‘Best Practice’ Model
for Tailgating Events,” Journal of Venue and Event Management, 2(2): 54-68.
Megerian, Christopher, 2007. “The Prize in the Parking Lot,” Business Week, 11.
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
6
Expenditures are estimated by multiplying spending per fan by the number of
fans. Separate results are presented for fans from outside the Lincoln Metropolitan area
and fans from within the area. Average spending per fan is $68.99 for fans from outside
of the metropolitan area and $39.70 for local fans. Note that most fan spending is from
outside of the Lincoln Metropolitan Area. Spending data are summed to estimate total
spending by all fans. Total annual fan spending is estimated at $47.3 million before
adjusting for concessions.
Note that this figure only includes fan spending reported to take place within the
Lincoln Metropolitan Area. Other fan spending could have taken place in another city
such as a restaurant meal while driving to Lincoln or a hotel room in another city.
Further, adjustment is necessary because the total expenditure figures in Table 3 include
some spending at concessions at Memorial Stadium. This concession spending was
already part of the revenue of the department and, therefore, needs to be subtracted so
that this spending is not counted twice. The total annual spending by football fans is
estimated at $42.9 million after subtracting concession sales. Revenue for metropolitan
area hospitality businesses due to off-site football fan expenditure is a large part of the
total revenue generated by Nebraska Athletics.
ii. Off-Site Fan Spending for Other Sports
This section reports estimated off-site spending of fans at other Nebraska
Athletics sporting events. Table 4 reports spending per fan and total spending for fans
from within the Lincoln Metropolitan Area for those sports where attendance counts are
available. Relative to football, a larger share of fans for basketball, volleyball and other
sports live within the metropolitan area. Spending totals also are reported for each sport
as well as overall spending. Total fan spending was estimated at $17.1 million for the
2013-2014 fiscal year or $16.8 million after adjusting for concession sales.
C. Overall Revenue for Department of Athletics and Off-Site Fan Spending
Table 5 shows the overall expenditure of Nebraska Athletics, related activities and
fans attending home games, meets, or matches for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. Total annual
spending is estimated at $162.1 million.
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
7
Table 4
Estimated Fan Spending for University of Nebraska Home Sporting Events in
Other Sports 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
Fans from
Outside the Lincoln
Metropolitan Area
Sport
Fans from
Inside the Lincoln
Metropolitan Area
All Fans
Spending
per Fan
Spending
Spending
per Fan
Spending
Spending
Men’s Basketball
$29.32
$3.2 million
$17.23
$2.4 million
$5.6 million
Women’s Basketball
$35.73
$1.4 million
$14.09
$1.0 million
$2.4 million
Volleyball
$50.33
$3.9 million
$17.78
$1.5 million
$5.4 million
Men’s Baseball
$49.17
$2.0 million
$17.67
$0.7 million
$2.7 million
Women’s Softball
$20.40
$0.1 million
$11.18
$0.1 million
$0.2 million
Men’s Gymnastics
$78.52
$0.1 million
$10.00
$0.01 million
$0.1 million
Women’s Gymnastics
$39.04
$0.3 million
$8.00
$0.03 million
$0.3 million
Wrestling
$23.07
$0.2 million
$23.80
$0.04 million
$0.3 million
Soccer
$40.26
$0.1 million
$13.25
$0.02 million
$0.1 million
Gross Total
$11.3 million
$5.8 million
$17.1 million
Adjustment for
Concessions
-$0.2 million
-$0.1 million
-$0.3 million
Total
$11.1 million
$5.7 million
$16.8 million
Source: BBR calculations.
Table 5
Overall Revenue for Department of Athletics Operations and Off-Site Fan
Spending 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
Category
Total
Department of Athletics
$102.4 million
Fan Spending (excluding concessions)
$59.7 million
Total
$162.1 million
Source: BBR calculations.
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
8
III. Economic Impact
Nebraska Athletics operating revenue, capital expenditure and revenue for
hospitality businesses from fan off-site spending generates an economic impact on the
Lincoln Metropolitan Area. In particular, the spending of fans from outside of the
Lincoln Metropolitan Area brings new revenue into the Lincoln area and generates an
economic impact. Spending of local fans also generates an economic impact if those fans
would have left the Lincoln Metropolitan Area to spend the money on something else if
they were not able to spend money on Nebraska Athletics sporting events. The survey
asked fans about this possibility and between 2% and 8% of local fans indicated they
would leave the area. The sum of the new and retained fan spending is the direct
economic impact on the Lincoln Metropolitan Area economy.
This direct impact is only a part of the total economic impact. There is also a
“multiplier” impact as the money circulates further throughout the Lincoln economy. For
example, additional job and income opportunities are generated for the Lincoln area
when the department purchases supplies or services from local businesses or as their
employees spend their wages. The same can be said of the Lincoln area hospitality
businesses patronized by fans and their employees. Figure 2 illustrates the basic approach
to conducting economic impact analysis.
The direct impact is derived from revenue estimates in Table 5. As noted above,
that portion of revenue supported by fans from outside of the Lincoln Metropolitan Area
is new spending, plus there is retained spending by local fans. The multiplier impact is
added to the direct impact to yield the total impact. There is an economic impact due to
Nebraska Athletics operating revenues, capital expenditures and off-site fan spending.
Below, results are presented first for department revenues, second for fan spending and
third for capital expenditure. The overall impact is then presented.
A. Impact of the Department of Athletics Operations
Nebraska Athletics annual operating revenue is $92.6 million. This revenue
supports department expenditure for the year, including $33.8 million in salaries and
wages. These figures are used to estimate the economic impact of department operations.
i. Direct Impact
Most of this revenue supports expenditures in the Lincoln Metropolitan Area
during the 2013-2014 fiscal year. A portion, however, do not. For instance, $3.5 million
of expenditures were debt service payments. Debt service expenditures go to finance past
projects rather than economic activity in the current year. We also exclude recruiting
costs, which are approximately $2.1 million, because a significant portion of this
spending occurs in other states. While much of the travel expenses by the department
would go out of state, these would largely be compensated as opposing teams playing in
Lincoln spend part of their travel budgets in Lincoln. Excluding debt services and
recruiting leaves $87.0 million in operating revenue for the 2013-2014 fiscal year.
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
9
Figure 2
Basic Approach to Economic Impact
Step
Step 1
Expenditure
Step 2
Direct Impact
Nebraska Athletics
and Related Spending
Step 4
Total Impact
Capital
Expenditure
All Expenditures
$102.4 million
(Table 5)
All Expenditures
$59.7 million
(Tables 3-5)
Capital Expenditure
$23.4 million
↓
↓
↓
Revenue for current
activity, supported by
spending from outside
of the Lincoln Metro
area and retained cur
spending
$76.7 million
(Table 6)
+
Step 3
Multiplier
Impact
Fan Spending
Direct impact
spending generates
further jobs, income
and spending in the
Lincoln metro area
Off-site fan spending
of fans from outside of
the Lincoln Metro area
and retain spending
$46.3 million
(Table 7)
Capital expenditure
supports construction
activity
$23.4 million
+
Direct impact
spending generates
further jobs, income
and spending in the
Lincoln metro area
=
=
Total economic impact
from athletic
department spending
$147.2 million
(Table 6)
Total economic impact
from off-site fan
spending
$59.2 million
(Table 7)
+
Direct impact
spending generates
further jobs, income
and spending in the
Lincoln metro area
=
Total economic impact
from construction
spending
$39.1 million
(Table 8)
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
10
Only a portion of these revenues are included in the direct impact of department
operations. Of this $87.0 million, we also exclude a portion of the revenue from tickets,
donations tied to ticket purchases, and concession spending of fans who reside in the
Lincoln metropolitan area. This approach is tantamount to assuming that most Lincoln
area fans would spend their income elsewhere in Lincoln if not at Nebraska Athletics
home sporting events, presumably on other types of local recreation or entertainment. Of
course, some Lincoln area fans would spend money attending sporting events in Kansas
City or Omaha or taking vacations. Survey results found that between 2% and 8% of
Lincoln area fans would spend money outside of the area in this way, depending on the
sport.
Data presented earlier in Table 2 indicated the share of fans at Nebraska Athletics
home sporting events who are from outside of the Lincoln Metropolitan Area. As noted
earlier, a portion of spending by local fans also is “retained” revenue. Combining these
figures, spending by Lincoln Metropolitan Area fans on tickets and concessions and
contributions associated with season ticket purchases accounted for 22.0% of all
Nebraska Athletics revenue. This implies that 78.0% of revenue came from sources
outside of Lincoln or “retained” Lincoln spending. The direct impact of Nebraska
Athletics on the Lincoln Metropolitan Area economy is 78.0% of $87.0 million or $67.7
million. With related revenue this figure rises to $76.7 million. Similar adjustments are
made for the labor income of department employees and department employment. Direct
impact results are seen in Table 6. The direct sales tax for the City of Lincoln from
Nebraska Athletics spending is $499,000.
Table 6
Economic Impact of Department of Athletics Spending on the Lincoln
Metropolitan Area 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
Impact Measure
Direct Impact
Total Impact
Output
$76.7 million
$147.2 million
Labor Income
$28.5 million
$51.2 million
Employment
1,470
2,270
All Sports
Source: BBR calculations
ii. Multiplier Impact and Total Impact
The multiplier impact occurs as new money brought into or retained in the area by
Nebraska Athletics supports additional business and employment. Nebraska Athletics
expenditures at Lincoln area establishments create employment and revenue for these
businesses. Likewise, spending by department employees on typical household
expenditure creates revenue for housing, insurance, health care, food, retail,
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
11
entertainment and other businesses in the region. The result is additional employment,
earnings, and output throughout the Lincoln Metropolitan area economy.
The multiplier impact from Nebraska Athletics revenue is estimated using the
IMPLAN software package. The IMPLAN software can be used to estimate economic
multiplier impacts for any of 430 industries in any county, state or combination of
counties and states. IMPLAN analysis was run for the spectator sports industry and retail
sales, using wages and salaries and employment provided by the department. The
estimated multiplier is slightly under 2 for output and labor income. There is
approximately $0.95 of multiplier impact for each $1 of direct output or labor income. In
Table 6, the multiplier impact is added to the direct impact to yield the total impact. The
total economic impact of Nebraska Athletics operations is $147.2 million in output, $51.2
million in labor income, and 2,270 in total employment.
B. Impact of Off-Site Fan Spending
Tables 3 and 4 earlier in the report contained estimates of off-site spending (other
than spending on tickets and concessions) by fans attending Nebraska Athletics sporting
events. This off-site spending generates revenue for Lincoln area hospitality businesses,
and therefore, an economic impact on the Lincoln area economy. For example, Nebraska
Athletics sporting events held at the Pinnacle Bank Arena generate off-site spending at
restaurants located in the Railyard district.
i. Direct Impact
Only a portion of this off-site spending, however, has a direct impact on the
Lincoln Metropolitan Area economy. As was true for Nebraska Athletics revenue, only
the off-site fan spending that is new to or retained in the Lincoln Metropolitan Area is
part of the direct impact. Data in Tables 3 and 4 indicate $45.6 million in off-site
spending (after excluding concession spending) by fans from outside the Lincoln area
attending home sporting events. There was $14.0 million in off-site spending by fans
from the Lincoln Metropolitan Area. Approximately 6% of this spending should be
counted as “retained” based on results from our fan survey. Therefore the total new and
retained spending is $46.4 million during the 2013-14 fiscal year, as seen in Table 7. The
direct impact in terms of employment and labor income are also listed in Table 7, and
were calculated based on industry ratios of expenditure to annual employment and
expenditure to labor income.2 Note that the employment impact estimates are based on
the number of full-year jobs that can be supported by the expenditure impact. The
employment impact was presented in full-year equivalents in order to make the
employment impacts comparable to full-year jobs in the hospitality industry. Game day
job impacts would be higher.
2
Labor income and employment is a modest share of expenditures in retail industries since most of the cost
of retail items is tied into the wholesale value, and relatively few of the retail items are manufactured
locally.
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
12
The sales tax impact also can be calculated based on the direct spending impact of
$46.4 million. Assuming that 95% of metro area spending occurs in Lincoln, and noting
the parking fees, gasoline, and alcohol sales are not subject to sales tax, the $46.4 million
in expenditure will generate an estimated $437,000 in direct sales tax revenue for the City
of Lincoln (given a 1.5% local sales tax rate).
ii. Multiplier Impact and Total Impact
Table 7 below shows the direct and total impacts of fan spending on the Lincoln
Metropolitan Area. As noted before, the total impact is the sum of the direct impact and
the multiplier impact. The multiplier impact occurs as businesses patronized by Nebraska
Athletics fans (restaurants, hotels, retail establishments, and gasoline stations) purchase
supplies and services from other Lincoln area businesses. The multiplier impact also
occurs as the employees of these restaurants, hotels, retail or gasoline stations spend their
wages throughout the community. The multiplier impact was estimated using the
IMPLAN Pro software to calculate multipliers for restaurants, lodging, retail, gasoline,
and parking. The multiplier impact is approximately 1.3 for output, 1.65 for earnings and
1.4 for employment. The multiplier for employment means that there are two additional
jobs in the larger economy for each five jobs in the restaurant, hotel, retail store, and
other businesses patronized by fans attending Nebraska Athletics home sporting events.
The total economic impact of fan spending was $59.2 million in output, $19.5 million in
worker income, and 790 jobs during the 2013-14 fiscal year.
Table 7
Economic Impact of Off-Site Fan Spending at Home Sporting Events on the
Lincoln Metropolitan Area 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
Impact Measure
Direct Impact
Total Impact
Output
$46.4 million
$59.2 million
Labor Income
$11.7 million
$19.5 million
Employment
580
790
All Sports
Source: BBR calculations.
C. Economic Impact from Capital Expenditure 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
Nebraska Athletics generates an economic impact on the Lincoln and Nebraska
economy through its major capital expenditure projects. Major capital expenditure
projects in recent years include the fitting out the Pinnacle Bank Arena for use by
Nebraska Men’s & Women’s Basketball programs, the East Stadium Expansion project
in Memorial Stadium, the Renovation of the Bob Devaney Sports Center, the new
Tennis/Soccer Complex being built north of Innovation Campus and the Fan Experience
Project which saw wifi and a new sounds system installed in Memorial Stadium. The
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
13
overall construction of the Pinnacle Bank Arena was led by the City of Lincoln, with
Nebraska Basketball serving as the key tenant.
Later in the report, we provide an estimate of the cumulative economic impact of
all of these construction projects led by Nebraska Athletics in recent years. In this
section, we focus on the economic impact of capital expenditures during the 2013-14
fiscal year, as part of the estimate the overall economic impact of Nebraska Athletics
during that year.
According to Nebraska Athletics, capital spending on these projects was $23.4
million during the 2013-14 fiscal year. These construction costs are a direct economic
impact. IMPLAN economic multipliers for Construction and Engineering and
Architecture are used to estimate multipliers for capital expenditures on facilities. The
multiplier impact is added to the direct impact to yield the total economic impact. The
total economic impact of the construction projects on the Lincoln Metropolitan Area
economy is reported in Table 8. The economic impact of construction spending during
the 2013-14 fiscal year is $39.1 million, including $16.3 million in labor income spread
over 360 jobs.
Table 8
Economic Impact of Department of Athletics Capital Expenditure Projects
Impact Measure
Direct Impact
Total Impact
Output
$23.4 million
$39.1 million
Labor Income
$11.1 million
$16.3 million
Employment
230
360
Source: BBR calculations.
D. Overall Economic Impact
The overall economic impact on the Lincoln Metropolitan Area during fiscal year
2013-14 is the sum of the impact from Nebraska Athletics operations, off-site fan
spending, and capital expenditure. The overall economic impact is reported in Table 9.
The overall annual economic impact is $245.5 million, with $87.0 million of this total
accruing to 3,240 workers. The direct sales tax impact for the City of Lincoln in 20132014 is $936,000.
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
14
Table 9
Overall Economic Impact of Department of Athletics Operations, Fan Spending
and Capital Expenditure on the Lincoln Metropolitan Area 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
Impact Measure
Overall Economic Impact
Output
$245.5 million
Labor Income
$87.0 million
Employment
3,420
Source: BBR calculation.
IV. Economic Impact on State of Nebraska
Nebraska Athletics has a statewide impact on the Nebraska economy. That impact
is derived from revenue which is new to Nebraska or retained within the state. The
methodological approach is the same as described in detail above in Sections II and III.
A. Impact of Department of Athletics Operations
Only a portion of fans who attend sporting events held in Lincoln reside outside
of the state and bring new revenue into the Nebraska economy. In particular,
approximately 15% of fans attending football games are from out of state, and the share
is closer to 5% or less in other sports. These results suggest that only a portion of ticketrelated revenue and concession revenue earned by the department is new to Nebraska.
Further, a portion of spending by local fans also is “retained” revenue supporting
Nebraska Athletics. Combining these figures, spending by in-state fans on tickets and
concessions and donations tied to ticket purchases accounted for 49.0% of all Nebraska
Athletics revenue. This implies that 51.0% of revenue came from sources outside of
Nebraska or “retained” Nebraska spending. The direct impact of Nebraska Athletics
operations on the Nebraska economy is therefore 51.0% of $87.0 million or $44.4
million. Similar adjustments are made for the labor income of department employees and
department employment. The direct impact rises to $52.5 million after adjusting for
related revenues from sports camps and Husker IMG Sports Marketing. Direct impact
results are seen in Table 10. The direct state and local sales tax impact from the
department spending is $1,527,000. Table 10 also shows the total economic impact on
Nebraska, which reflects both the direct economic impact and the multiplier impact. The
total economic impact is $86.4 million in output, $29.9 million in labor income, and
1,250 in total employment.
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
15
Table 10
Economic Impact of Department of Athletics Spending on the State of Nebraska
2013-2014 Fiscal Year
Impact Measure
Direct Impact
Total Impact
Output
$52.5 million
$86.4 million
Labor Income
$16.8 million
$29.9 million
Employment
870
1,250
Source: BBR calculations
B. Impact of Off-Site Fan Spending
The statewide economic impact from off-site fan spending is estimated using the
same approach shown in Tables 3 and 4 above. The statewide calculation, however,
focuses on new spending by out-of-state fans and retained spending by in-state fans.
There was a total of $20.8 million in new or retained off-site spending in Nebraska due to
Nebraska Athletics home sporting events. This estimate is reported in Table 11. The
direct impacts in terms of employment and labor income are also listed in Table 11.
These were calculated based on industry ratios of expenditure to annual employment and
expenditure to labor income. Note that the employment impact estimates are based on the
number of full-year jobs that can be supported by the expenditure impact. The
employment impact was presented in full-year equivalents in order to make the
employment impacts comparable to full-year jobs in the hospitality industry. Game day
job impacts would be higher. The state and local sales tax impact also can be calculated
based on the direct spending impact of $20.8 million. Assuming that 95% of spending
will occur in a location subject to sales tax and noting that parking fees, gasoline, and
alcohol sales are not subject to sales tax, the $20.8 million in expenditure will generate an
estimated $823,000 in direct sales tax (given a 7.0% state and local sales tax rate). The
total economic impact, which is presented in Table 11, was $24.3 million in output, $8.0
million in worker income, and 290 jobs during the 2013-14 fiscal year.
Table 11
Economic Impact of Off-Site Fan Spending at Home Sporting Events on the
State of Nebraska 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
Impact Measure
Direct Impact
Total Impact
Output
$20.8 million
$24.3 million
Labor Income
$4.6 million
$8.0 million
Employment
210
290
Source: BBR calculations
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
16
C. Overall Economic Impact
The overall economic impact on the State of Nebraska during fiscal year 2013-14
is the sum of the impact from Nebraska Athletics operations, the impact from fan
spending, and capital expenditure. Statewide capital expenditure impacts are similar to
those reported in Table 8. The overall annual impact is reported in Table 12. The overall
economic impact across all sports is $149.5 million, with $54.7 million of this total
accruing to 1,890 workers. The direct sales tax impact for the State of Nebraska in 20132014 is $2,351,000.
Table 12
Overall Economic Impact of Department of Athletics Operations, Fan Spending
and Capital Expenditure on the State of Nebraska 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
Impact Measure
Overall Economic Impact
Output
$149.5 million
Labor Income
$54.7 million
Employment
1,890
Source: BBR calculations
V. Impact of Media Coverage
One impact of Nebraska Athletics sporting events results from live media
coverage of events on radio and television. Live broadcast coverage of sports events has a
natural effect on raising the positive perception of the University of Nebraska, the city of
Lincoln and the state of Nebraska. In his 2008 study of the economic impact of Omaha’s
College World Series, Dr. Ernie Goss noted, “the coverage produced by the Series
reinforces year after year Omaha’s association with college baseball’s national
championship and its identification as a desirable city in which to live and visit”.3 The
same can be said of the broadcasts of Nebraska Athletics sporting events.
A. Television and Radio
During the course of a broadcast sports event on both television and radio,
announcers often comment on the quality of the arena or stadium as a venue, as well as
notable impressions of the university, the city and the state. While the value of this
commentary is difficult to measure, one can look at the number of televised games and
the scope of the listenership or viewership of stations broadcasting events. Table 13
shows the networks covering games. Note the significant level of coverage. Major
broadcast networks such as Big Ten Network (BTN), ABC/ESPN, CBS and Fox Sports
3
Goss, Ernie. (February 2008). The Impact of the College World Series on the City of
Omaha, 2007-2018. Retrieved from http://www.gossinstitute.com/
CWS_OpOnly021308.pdf.
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
17
Net provide significant football coverage and notable national and regional coverage of
men’s basketball and baseball. Additionally, coverage through the ABC/ESPN family of
networks, including ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3, provides significant national and
regional coverage for women’s basketball, volleyball, and softball. The Nebraska
Educational Television (NET) Network also provides statewide coverage for volleyball,
baseball, softball and women’s basketball.
Table 14 outlines football and men’s basketball television viewership on three
network families in the 2013-14 season. Note that the January 9, 2014 Men’s Basketball
game, Michigan at Nebraska, drew 561,000 viewers on ESPN2 while the December 4,
2013 game, Miami at Nebraska, drew 101,000 on ESPNU. Football game viewership in
2013 was much higher than Men’s Basketball, topping 25 million viewers for regular
season and the Gator Bowl broadcasts, not including games broadcast on the Big Ten
Network or through online/internet channels (Sports Media Watch, 2014).4 Clearly, the
station and the team matchups make a large difference in the viewership of the game and
this increased exposure expands Nebraska Athletics impact across the nation far beyond
in-person attendance.
As noted earlier, the Big Ten Network is a key broadcaster for Women’s
Basketball, Volleyball and other sports. Further, the audience for those sports broadcasts
is a growing one. A July 2013 White Paper prepared for the NCAA by Big East
Conference commissioner and former Women’s National Basketball Association
President Val Ackerman notes:
“Women’s college basketball remains an appealing television property, and the
continued expansion of broadcast outlets (including national sports cable,
conference and web-based networks) and the corresponding desire for sports
programming ensures that a high level of television exposure for the sport can be
maintained. As the NCAA’s women’s basketball broadcast partner through 2024,
ESPN plays (and will continue to play) an essential role in creating exposure for,
and shaping the image of, the women’s college game. ESPN appears committed
to helping women’s college basketball continue to grow, and there may be room
for expanded collaboration with respect to telecasts, coverage on espnw.com and
other initiatives. Because ESPN is also the rights holder for the WNBA through
2022, further opportunities may exist to cross-promote the two properties.”
(Ackerman 2013)5
4
Sports Media Watch. (March 24, 2014). College Basketball TV Ratings. Retrieved from
http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2014/03/college-basketball-tv-ratings-numbers-forevery-game-of-the-2013-14-season/2/.
Sports Media Watch. (March 24, 2014). College Football TV Ratings. Retrieved from
http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/college-football-tv-ratings/.
5
Ackerman, Val. (June 15, 2013). Division I Women’s Basketball White Paper Prepared
for the NCAA. Retrieved from
http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/NCAAWBBWHITEPAPER.pdf.
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
18
Table 13: Network Coverage of Sporting Events 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
Number of Games
Sport
Fox
Sports
CBS1
ABC/ESPN Family
BTN
7
6
8
20
Women’s Basketball3
5
25
Volleyball4
3
22
4
20
2
10
Football
Men’s Basketball2
Baseball5
1
2
2
Softball
Wrestling
1
Women’s Gymnastics
1
Women’s Soccer
1
Total
8
25
107
Source: Sports Media Watch
1
NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament game on CBS family station TruTV
2
Most men’s basketball games also available on the Husker Sports Network
3
Two BTN broadcasts joint with NET, game with Utah on Pac-12 Networks
4
Eight BTN broadcasts joint with NET, 1 game covered on Longhorn Network, 1 game
covered on purduesports.com, and 2 games on HuskersNSide
5
Four BTN broadcasts joint with NET, 1 NET broadcast, 16 games on HuskersNSide
and numerous away games covered on by local sports network
.
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
19
Table 14: Fiscal Year 2013-14 Television Viewership Numbers, ESPN and ABC
Game
Date
Station
Viewership
Miami at Nebraska
12-04-13
ESPNU
101,000
Nebraska at Cincinnati
12-28-13
ESPN2
244,000
Michigan at Nebraska
01-09-14
ESPN2
561,000
Nebraska at Penn St.
01-23-14
ESPNU
167,000
Nebraska at Northwestern
02-08-14
ESPNU
144,000
Penn St. at Nebraska
02-20-14
ESPNU
198,000
Northwestern at Nebraska
03-01-14
ESPNU
192,000
Nebraska vs. Ohio St.
03-14-14
ESPN
1,187,000
Men’s Basketball
Total
2,860,000
Football
UCLA at Nebraska
09-14-13
ABC
4,190,000
Illinois at Nebraska
10-05-13
ESPNU
781,000
Nebraska at Minnesota
10-26-13
ESPN
3,130,000
Nebraska at Michigan
11-09-13
ABC
4,760,000
Michigan St. at Nebraska
11-16-13
ABC
4,410,000
Iowa at Nebraska
11-29-13
ABC
3,980,000
Nebraska at Georgia
01-01-14
ESPN2
4,520,000
Total
25,706,000
Source: Sports Media Watch
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
20
Table 15: All Network Broadcasts
Sport
Broadcast Events
Only
Streaming Events
(additional)
Football
13
Spring Football
1
Men’s Basketball
27
6
Women’s Basketball
16
17
Volleyball
10
19
Baseball
15
34
Softball
7
5
Women’s Gymnastics
4
Wrestling
3
8
Women’s Soccer
3
6
Men’s & Women’s Track and Field
2
Men’s Golf
1
Women’s Golf
1
Men’s Tennis
1
Women’s Tennis
1
Women’s Swimming and Diving
1
Total
106
95
Source: University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
Note: The above graph does not include NET statewide live TV broadcasts although such
broadcasts were streamed on BTN.com. This includes 2 women’s basketball games, 8
volleyball games and 5 baseball games.
B. New Media
One critical platform for Nebraska Athletics is the Big Ten Network which
broadcasts and rebroadcasts a broad cross-section of Nebraska Athletics events yielding
hundreds of hours of coverage. This coverage is in addition to the ongoing discussion of
Nebraska and other Big Ten sports teams through featured programming on the Big Ten
Network. Table 15 below lists the number of events broadcast or rebroadcast by BTN by
sport during the 2013-14 year. There are 106 on-air broadcast events over the course of
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
21
the year with a broad coverage of sports. BTN also reaches sports audiences through
streaming games on-line. Table 15 also shows the number of Nebraska Athletics events
streamed by the Big Ten Network. There are 95 events. Streaming significantly expands
the coverage of some sports, complementing on-air broadcast coverage. Lastly, while not
listed in Table 15, we note that there are broadcasting opportunities for students through
BTN Student U; in particular, 8 events.
C. Conclusion
What do all of these viewership/impressions numbers mean in dollars?
Impressions can be generally monetized by considering how much it would cost to
achieve the same number of impressions through paid advertising, otherwise known as
Ad Value Equivalence (AVE) Modeling. Generally, a cost of $12 per thousand (CPM)
can be used to estimate value. This figure is a “rough median” of costs across the
spectrum of advertising channels, including television, radio, social media and other
internet channels (PortMA 2014).6 With even the small sample of media impressions that
are known for Nebraska Athletics events, with regard to broadcast of sports events and
channel promotions of these broadcasts, it is clear that media coverage across all channels
could easily result in an AVE in the millions of dollars for Nebraska Athletics, not
including the media relations and marketing activities undertaken by Nebraska Athletics,
itself.
VI. The Cumulative Economic Impact from Recent Capital Expenditure
The major capital expenditure projects of Nebraska Athletics in recent years
include the fitting out the Pinnacle Bank Arena for use by Nebraska Men’s & Women’s
Basketball programs, the East Stadium Expansion project in Memorial Stadium, the
Renovation of the Bob Devaney Sports Center, the new Tennis/Soccer Complex being
built north of Innovation Campus and the Fan Experience Project. The total spending on
these projects in recent years (through September 2014) is $101.5 million. This section
estimates the cumulative economic impact of these construction projects.
The total economic impact of the construction projects on the Lincoln
Metropolitan Area economy is reported in Table 16. Employment is presented in terms of
job-years. The job-years concept represents years of employment. So, for example, if the
project takes two years to complete, the temporary employment impact in either of those
years would be half as much. The economic impact of all recent construction spending is
$169.7 million. This total includes $70.7 million in labor income earned over 1,570 jobyears.
6
PortMA Experiential Marketing Analytics. (2014). How to Estimate the Dollar Value of
Event Marketing Impressions. Retrieved from http://portma.com/how-to-estimate-thedollar-value-of-event-marketing-impressions.
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
22
Table 16
Cumulative Economic Impact of Recent Department of Athletics Capital
Expenditure Projects
Impact Measure
Direct Impact
Economic Impact
Output
$101.5 million
$169.7 million
Labor Income
$48.3 million
$70.7 million
1,000
1,570
Job-Years
Source: BBR calculations.
VII. Summary
The University of Nebraska Department of Athletics is a significant employer in
Lincoln and the State of Nebraska. The department had a payroll of $33.8 million during
the 2013-14 fiscal year, and employed 326 full-time staff, 13 part-time staff, 616 student
part-time workers, 897 event staff, and concessions staff and other on-call temporary
workers. The department also is a key part of the Lincoln and Nebraska tourism industry.
Home sporting events attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year to the Lincoln
Metropolitan Area. In addition to these community impacts, the department also
generates benefits for the University of Nebraska as a whole. Nebraska Athletics
expenditures include more than $16.2 million spent on tuition, and purchases of services
and support of other units of the University of Nebraska.
This report estimated the overall economic impact of Nebraska Athletics during
the recently completed 2013-14 fiscal year. Impacts were estimated for the Lincoln
Metropolitan Area and for the entire State of Nebraska. Nebraska Athletics, through its
own spending, related revenue and the game day spending of fans, generated local
expenditures of approximately $162 million during the 2013-14 fiscal year. There was
also $23.4 million in capital expenditure during the year. The overall economic impact on
the Lincoln Metropolitan Area including the “multiplier” impact was $245.5 million for
the year. This impact includes $87.0 million in labor income spread over 3,420 jobs.
Roughly one-quarter of this employment would be event and concession jobs. Note that
the impact was elevated during the 2013-2014 fiscal year since there were 8 home
football games during the 2013 season. However, these estimates are conservative since
the estimates do not include the impact of fans who do not attend home football games
but who still travel to downtown Lincoln to watch the game and spend money on game
days.
These 2013-14 fiscal year impacts represent substantial growth relative to the
impact measured nearly a decade ago by the UNL Bureau of Business Research in a
study of Nebraska Athletics during the 2004-05 fiscal year. While that study focused only
on the impact of football, men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball and baseball, the
results are broadly comparable to the current study. The growth in impact also reflects
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
23
that there were 8 home games (plus the Spring Game) during the 2013-14 versus 6 home
games in 2004-05. The 2004-05 fiscal year study found that Nebraska Athletics had a
$114.3 million economic impact on the Lincoln Metropolitan Area, including $41.2
million in worker income. The 2004-05 impacts did not include capital expenditure.
Excluding capital expenditure impacts, the overall economic impact, measured in output,
during the 2013-14 fiscal year was 81% greater than the impact during the 2004-05 fiscal
year. The impact was 72% greater when measured in worker income. Both growth rates
are much higher than the 22% inflation rate (growth in the consumer price index) during
the same period. The vast majority of the increase in the annual economic impact of the
Nebraska Athletics was real growth in economic activity rather than the result of
inflation.
Major construction projects for Nebraska Athletics also have a substantial
economic impact on the Lincoln Metropolitan Area economy. The economic impact of
department capital expenditure in recent years was:$169.7 million in output, $70.7
million in worker income, and 1,570 job-years.
The statewide economic impact of Nebraska Athletics is less than the economic
impact on the Lincoln Metropolitan Area. This is because many of the fans who attend
Nebraska Athletics games are from other parts of the state, such as the Omaha area or
central Nebraska. These fans bring new spending to the Lincoln Metropolitan Area but
not to Nebraska. Nonetheless, Nebraska Athletics still has a substantial economic impact
on the State of Nebraska. The overall economic impact on the State of Nebraska
including the “multiplier” impact was $149.5 million for the 2013-14 fiscal year. This
impact includes $54.7 million in labor income spread over 1,890 jobs.
Impressions of Nebraska generated by media coverage can be generally
monetized by considering how much it would cost to achieve the same number of
impressions through paid advertising, otherwise known as Ad Value Equivalence (AVE)
Modeling. Broadcast of Nebraska Athletics sports events and channel promotions of
these broadcasts would have easily resulted in millions of dollars of promotion based on
Ad Value Equivalence.
2013-14 Economic Impact of the University of Nebraska Department of Athletics
24
Appendix A: About the Bureau of Business Research and Key Personnel
The Bureau of Business Research
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Bureau of Business Research is a leading source for
analysis and information on the Nebraska, Midwest and national economy. The Bureau
conducts both contract and sponsored research on the economy including: 1) economic
feasibility analysis, 2) economic and fiscal benefit analysis; 3) models of the structure
and comparative advantage of the current economy; 4) economic, fiscal, and
demographic outlooks, and 5) assessments of how economic policy affects industry, labor
markets, infrastructure, and the standard of living. The Bureau also competes for research
funding from federal government agencies, private foundations and private organizations
from around the nation and contributes to the academic mission of the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln through scholarly publication and the education of students.
Dr. Eric Thompson – Principal Investigator
Contact Information: Telephone: 402-472-3318; Email: ethompson2@unl.edu
Dr. Eric Thompson was the principal investigator on this project. Dr. Thompson is the
Director of the Bureau of Business Research and an Associate Professor of Economics at
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Thompson’s research has received support from
the National Science Foundation, the U. S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation. He has conducted a variety of economic impact studies for industries such as
the agriculture, insurance, heritage tourism and horseracing and attractions such as
performing arts organizations, symphonies, zoos and agricultural festivals. He also has
conducted numerous studies for the Lincoln, Omaha, and State Chambers of Commerce
as well as the Nebraska Department of Economic Development and the Nebraska
Department of Labor. In his previous employment, Thompson served as the Director of
the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Kentucky. Dr.
Thompson received his Ph.D. in agricultural economics from the University of
Wisconsin-Madison in 1992. His research has been published in Regional Science and
Urban Economics, the Journal of Regional Science, and the American Journal of
Agricultural Economics.
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