Visitors to the 2014 Carolina Panthers Training Camp stayed longer and spent more money than previous years, resulting in a new record for economic impact on the City and County, according to a research report by Dr. Bob Brookover of Clemson University.
The report titled Economic Impact of Panthers Training Camp 2014 was conducted by Brookover for the Spartanburg Convention & Visitors Bureau (SCVB). The SCVB has been tracking visitor counts at Panthers Training Camp for all 20 years it has been in Spartanburg.
“Spartanburg and Wofford College hosted more than 49,000 visitors to watch the Carolina Panthers this summer,” said Chris Jennings, Director of the SCVB. “The two research studies we commissioned show the economic impact of Training Camp on the community, as well as who visits, how much they spend, and how much revenue is generated from those stays.”
Highlights of the economic impact study include:
• Training Camp attendees spent $4.719 million, supporting 113 jobs in the County
• Spending by Training Camp attendees generated $1.22 million in taxes and fees for local and state government.
• Spending by visitors had a total output/impact of $5.22 million on the Spartanburg County economy
The SCVB also had a Carolina Panthers Training Camp Visitor Profile conducted that showed 44 percent of those attending camp lived more than 50 miles from Spartanburg, an increase of 10 percentage points from the 2011 study.
Nearly one in five visitors (19%) from out of town stayed overnight in the area, up four percentage points from previous years. These overnight visitors stayed for an average of 2.2 nights. Nearly three-quarters of the respondents would not have visited Spartanburg but for Training Camp, and 86 percent stayed in the community longer specifically because of Camp.
Spending per party decreased slightly from 2011 ($149 versus $168), but gross spending by those who came from 50 miles or more topped $3.2 million.
The Visitor Profile study was conducted by H2R Market Research, which also produces the SCVB’s monthly Tourism Scorecard that measures several travel and tourism indicators. Jennings cited the City of Spartanburg and Spartanburg County for providing grant funding to measure the impact of Panthers Training Camp.
The Carolina Panthers beat Tampa Bay last weekend to open the 2014 season, despite star quarterback Cam Newton not playing due to injury. For schedules, directions and promotions, visit the Panthers’ official website: http://www.panthers.com/