It’s as predictable as swallows returning to Capistrano or Oren Koules noting the demand for another “Saw” movie. If Super Bowl is approaching, there must be a Phil Porter sighting – and quoting.
Porter, an affable and well-regarded economist at USF, is annually besieged by the media for his eminently predictable and contrarian take that Super Bowls’ economic impact on their venues is highly overrated. He puts a lot of emphasis on taxable sales comparisons from non-Super Bowl years. He makes his points.
Meanwhile, there are all kinds of studies that crank out economic-impact numbers – with all sorts of multiplier ripples – that yield chamber of commerce-pleasing results.
The truth is probably somewhere between negligible impact and economic coup.
But this much seems reasonable. Tampa Bay is not New York, Chicago or Los Angeles. The national and global (where TV viewership is estimated at 1 billion) exposure is incalculable and unaffordable. And not everybody will dine at Bern’s and Ruth’s Chris Steak House or stay at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort or Marriott Waterside.