Sports Calculator

Evaluating the true financial footprint of a sporting event requires moving beyond raw attendance numbers and surface-level ticket sales. It demands an understanding of how "new money" enters a region, who is spending it, and how that initial injection ripples through the local business ecosystem.

This framework provides a structured, data-driven methodology to calculate the Total Economic Impact (TEI) of your event. By combining regional benchmarks with customizable economic models, this tool translates operational event data into a credible, sophisticated analysis of local economic stimulation.

The assessment process is divided into four critical phases:

• Defining the Baseline through the Description of the Event
• Isolating New Money via Description of Spectators
• Accounting for all Stakeholders by defining Participant Spending
• Quantifying the Ripple Effect by estimating the Total Economic Impact

In this section, we focus on finding the true economic impact by narrowing down the total attendance through two primary filters:

• Local Resident Filter: This filter subtracts all local attendees from the total attendance, which leaves us with non-local visitors who bring “new” money into the impact area
• Primary Visitor Purpose Filter: The second filter further reduces the non-local visitors to include only those who travelled specifically for the event. This reduction fact is based on the impact area size (making your selection in step 1.5 critical for accuracy).

Once the non-local visitor count is established, they are divided into three groups based on their spending patterns. Each group builds upon the spending of the previous one:

Because spending habits vary significantly between day trippers and those staying in paid accommodation, correctly categorising your visitors is essential for an accurate final impact figure.

This section analyses expenditure generated by event participants and spectators. Event participants are categorised into two primary groups: Athletes and Media/Support Personnel.

Participant Categories:

• Athletes: This group is analysed separately because they typically remain in the "impact area" longer than other participants to accommodate training and acclimatisation.
• Media & Support Staff: This broad category includes commentators, sportswriters, panellists, officials, volunteers, scorers, timekeepers, ball crews, marshals, grounds crews, and statisticians.

The model tracks spending across four key sectors: Food & Beverage (specifically for day-trippers and visitors not using paid accommodation), Transportation, Retail, and Event Services.

To ensure accuracy, the spending calculations are handled as follows:

• National Benchmarks: Initial figures are based on average spending across the country.
• Provincial Multipliers: These national averages are adjusted using specific multipliers based on the province where the event occurs to reflect local economic conditions.

Calculating the Total Economic Impact (TEI) of a sporting event is the process of measuring how an initial injection of "new money" from outside the region ripples through the local economy.

Think of it like dropping a stone into a pond: the "plop" is the initial spending, and the ripples represent the secondary effects. Here is the step-by-step breakdown of how that calculation works. 

Calculating Total Direct Impact

This is the "first round" of spending—the cold, hard cash that enters the local economy specifically because the event is happening. It is usually categorised into two streams:

• Visitor Spending: Money spent by non-local spectators, athletes, and officials on hotels, restaurants, transportation, and retail.
• Organisational Spending: Money spent by the event organisers to host the event (e.g., renting a stadium, hiring local security, or buying supplies from local vendors).

Note: To be accurate, we must exclude "displaced spending" (money locals would have spent anyway) to ensure we are only measuring new wealth. 

The Multiplier Effect: Indirect and/or Induced Impact

Once that direct money is in the system, it starts to circulate. This is where Multipliers come in. Depending on the model you choose (Type I or Type I from step 1.3.1), you will calculate two secondary layers:

• Indirect Impact: This measures the "business-to-business" ripples.
  • A local restaurant sees a surge in customers due to the tournament. To keep up, they must buy more produce from a local farmer and hire a local cleaning service. That additional spending by the restaurant is the Indirect Impact.
• Induced Impact: This measures the "employee-to-business" ripples.
  • Because the restaurant is busy, the waiters earn more tips and the chef works overtime. Those employees then take their extra earnings and spend them on groceries, haircuts, or car repairs within the community. This spending is the Induced Impact.
  • The final step is the summation of all three layers.