Do College Football Games Pay for Themselves? The Impact of College Football Games on Local Sales Tax Revenue

26 Pages Posted: 4 Jun 2008

See all articles by Dennis Coates

Dennis Coates

University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Craig A. Depken

University of North Carolina at Charlotte - The Belk College of Business Administration - Department of Economics

Date Written: June 2008

Abstract

This paper analyzes the net impacts of college football games on the sales tax revenues and taxable sales of four mid-sized cities in Texas. The paper addresses the question in the title, but also asks whether state policy makers might be justified in encouraging schools in their state to play one another based on the local economic impact those games will have. In general, our evidence suggests the answer to that question is no.

Keywords: tourism, economic impacts, special events

JEL Classification: L83, H27

Suggested Citation

Coates, Dennis and Depken, Craig A., Do College Football Games Pay for Themselves? The Impact of College Football Games on Local Sales Tax Revenue (June 2008). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1140271 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1140271

Dennis Coates

University of Maryland, Baltimore County ( email )

1000 Hilltop Circle
Baltimore, MD 21250
United States
410-455-3243 (Phone)
410-455-1054 (Fax)

Craig A. Depken (Contact Author)

University of North Carolina at Charlotte - The Belk College of Business Administration - Department of Economics ( email )

Charlotte, NC 28223
United States