Texas Athletics Major Revenue Contributor to Austin and State of Texas

AUSTIN, Texas -- Today, Texas Athletics releases its Economic Impact Report, which quantifies benefits to Austin and the state of Texas totaling more than $728 million annually. Football is the major revenue generator with an average impact of $63 million per home game.

This analysis is the first comprehensive measure of Texas Athletics' impact to the city and state. AngelouEconomics was retained to evaluate the full economic impact of the department for Texas Football, Men's and Women's Basketball, Texas Relays/Track and Field, the Frank Erwin Center, and all other UT sports.

"We worked with AngelouEconomics on our first economic impact report to educate ourselves internally and our various constituent groups on the value of our operations and events to Austin and Texas," said Texas Men's Athletics Director Steve Patterson. "The results will be valuable for us as we expand and protect the university's brand, analyze on future capital investments, and work to find innovative ways to attract fans to Longhorns events."

"Texas Athletics is an integral part of the community," said UT Austin President Gregory L. Fenves. "It is an important way for fans to connect with the university and contribute to the vitality of the city. Thanks to our fans, the city and the community for their support."

Texas Athletics directly employs approximately 350 people and is responsible for the creation of more than 7,300 jobs in the city and state. Annually, events attract approximately 868,100 visitors to Austin with 351,556 hotel stays. Furthermore, Texas Athletics accounts for 5.2 percent of the $6.3 billion Austin travel industry, and supports 4.8 percent of all hospitality jobs in Austin.

The data shows Texas Athletics is a major economic contributor to the region, comparable to other high-profile events including South by Southwest (SXSW), Austin City Limits Music Festival, Formula One's US Grand Prix and other Circuit of the Americas events. Texas Athletics contributed the second-largest economic impact to the Austin economy.

"Our community has greatly benefited from Texas Athletics during the more than 100 years that the University of Texas at Austin has been hosting events," said Lance Aldridge, Executive Director, Austin Sports Commission. "Austin is a great sports town, and Texas Athletics provides exciting events that bring fans to Austin from all over the world."

"Texas Athletics has always been a major driver of economic activity here in Austin and throughout Texas," said Angelos Angelou, Principal Executive Officer at AngelouEconomics. "As one of the best brand ambassadors for Austin, Texas Athletics is now one of the highest impact, event-oriented entities in our region. We all take extra pride supporting Texas Athletics because of the brand awareness, quality of life, and the significant economic impact it brings to Austin and Texas."

For the study, economic output is defined as the total value of all goods and services within the local economy, both for Austin and Texas. Total economic output is derived through the sum of capital investment, operations and visitor spending. Over the past 20 years, Texas Athletics has invested more than $465 million in facilities construction and maintenance, which generated $923 million in economic activity and created more than 5,300 jobs. The average annual impact of capital investment for Texas Athletics is $46.2 million.

The operations impact (direct spending by the department) is $325.5 million, and visitor spending impact is $356.4 million to Austin and Texas. Small businesses are beneficiaries of Texas Athletics' presence in Austin through construction, locally sourced vendors, restaurants and retailers. Texas Athletics' impact reaches 316 business sectors throughout Texas with the primary impact on small business, either through local vendors or visitor spending at local restaurants and businesses. Additionally, 84 percent of the total economic impact is realized locally, within the Austin region.

Texas Athletics manages 20 intercollegiate athletics teams, more than 500 student-athletes and approximately 200 home events per year. Outside of Men's and Women's Basketball, the Frank Erwin Center hosts an average of 190 events per year. Additional impacts for other sports, events and facilities include:

• The total annual impact of Texas Football is $467 million, including six home games per season, away and bowl games, and makes up 61 percent of Texas Athletics' impact in Austin.
• The total annual impact of Texas Men's and Women's Basketball is $48.3 million with an average per game impact of $1.3 million.
• The study includes the impact of the Erwin Center, going beyond Texas Men's and Women's Basketball, including all concerts, family shows, sports, corporate events and high school/college graduations. The total impact for 2013-14 – what has been considered a down year for the Erwin Center – was $96.1 million.
• The Texas Relays is the second-largest event in terms of attendance after football. The event attracts more than 6,500 participating athletes to the area each year. In addition, thousands of others come to support them or take part in other related social activities.
• The total annual impact of Track and Field, including Texas Relays, is $30.4 million.
• The total annual impact of all other sports is $39.8 million. Texas Athletics' world-class facilities allow the university to host Big 12 and NCAA Championships, including the 2014 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, the 2014 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships and the American Short Course Championships.
• The total state, local and federal tax revenue is $72.4 million.
• Texas Athletics employed 489 student workers in the 2013-14 academic year, providing practical application and experience for skills learned in the classroom.

To read and download the full study, please visit TexasSports.com.