Recently released data from the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau estimates that the sold out game between the Florida State Seminoles and UCLA Bruins had a total economic impact of $18.1 million to San Francisco. Data concludes that overnight guests spent $14.77 million on hotel accommodations, dining, entertainment, local transportation, shopping, etc., while ticket and concession sales generated $2.1 million. The impact of day visitors was an estimated $1.09 million and the ad equivalency of ESPN�s broadcast of the game in San Francisco was estimated at $138,000.

"The Emerald Bowl's relationship with the Pacific-10 and Atlantic Coast Conferences paid immediate dividends," said Gary Cavalli, executive director of the Emerald Bowl. "Nearly half of the tickets were purchased by out-of-town fans supporting Florida State or UCLA and those fans obviously put a lot of visitor dollars into our local economy. Since generating tourism revenue for the city of San Francisco was one of our goals when we created the Bowl, we�re very pleased by these numbers.�

The Bowl, which brings visitors to the Bay Area during a traditionally slow period, was broadcast in prime time, giving San Francisco invaluable exposure. It received a 4.48 rating on ESPN, meaning 9.5 million households tuned in to see the Seminoles beat the Bruins 44-27.   The Emerald Bowl ranked ninth among 32 total bowl telecasts in overall viewership, and attracted a Bowl record, standing room only crowd of 40,331 fans. 

"Over the past five years, the Emerald Bowl has grown into a powerful economic event for our region," said Joe D�Alessandro, president and CEO of the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau. "From direct visitor spending to the television coverage on ESPN, the game has an impact well beyond what happens inside AT&T Park."

Tourism is the largest revenue-generating industry in San Francisco, generating $7.3 billion each year and supporting 66,315 jobs.
For more information on next December�s Emerald Bowl at AT&T Park, visit www.emeraldbowl.org. 

Founded in 1909, the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau is a private, not-for-profit organization that markets the City as a leisure, convention and business travel destination.  With nearly 1,700 member businesses, the SFCVB is one of the largest membership-based tourism promotion agencies in the country.  The SFCVB business offices are located at 201 Third St., Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103. For more information, call 415-974-6900 or visit www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com.