Game day likely a touchdown for local economy

Northwest Missouri doesn't have many caves for people to live in, so it's unlikely that anyone between Maryville and St. Joseph doesn't know about Saturday's big football game between the Bearcats and the Missouri Western State University Griffons.

In a football-crazy town like Maryville, any home-game weekend is a big deal, but Saturday's MIAA conference showdown, which has NCAA Division II playoff implications, is huge.

And not just in sports terms. A game like Saturday's matchup — with the Mo West campus less than an hour's drive away — brings hundreds, if not thousands, of visiting fans to Maryville, not to mention out-of-town family and friends of Northwest Missouri State University students.

Coming up with a precise figure is tricky, but it's possible that the impact of Saturday's game on the local economy could exceed three-quarters of a million dollars.

According to Northwest's sports information office, at least 10,000 people are expected to attend the sold-out game. If 2,000 of those people — a conservative estimate — come from out of town and spend an average of $150 each, that's $300,000.

Jason White, associate professor of business at Northwest, said that multiplying each outside dollar by a factor of two or three approximates the actual spending power generated as new money passes through the hands of consumers. So the math is simple: 2,000 fans times $150 equals $300,000, and $300,000 multiplied by 2.5 equals $750,000.

A similar formula holds that the consumption rate for those dollars — the percentage used by residents to purchase goods and services locally — is probably around 80 percent, meaning that the lion's share of the football windfall stays in Nodaway County.

A few years ago, economists commonly estimated the impact of outside money by using a multiplier of five. But that was before the Great Recession and new studies based on the effects of federal stimulus spending. White said a weakened economy has probably lessened the benefit derived from spending by out-of-towners.

However, local folks spend money on game days too, which is likely to have cash registers at stores, shops, restaurants and other businesses up and down Main Street and across downtown ringing all weekend long.

Football, coupled with the start of deer season Saturday, means almost every hotel room in Maryville has been booked for weeks, and in some cases months. As of Thursday afternoon, a few rooms were still available at Sunset Inn & Suites, but only if travelers reserved them for both Friday and Saturday at a premium price.

Maryville's three other hostelries, Comfort Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Super 8, are all booked solid for the weekend with a mix of football fans and hunters, employees stated.

As for retail activity, local merchants are also looking forward to a big weekend.

Bryce Buholt, manager of the Jock's Nitch athletic apparel store, one of two downtown shops specializing in Bearcats-branded merchandise, said his business will open at least an hour and a half early in anticipation of heavy game-day traffic.

He predicted that the town will be "packed to the limit" Saturday with more people than were on hand for last weekend's Northwest Homecoming celebration.

"We're hoping to get a lot of things out the door," Buholt said.

A few blocks away at the Student Body, which is crammed with a large selection of Bearcats T-shirts, jackets, workout clothes and caps, co-owner Jim Goecken said he and his wife, Amy, are also anticipating a big sales day.

"We'll have a good day," he said. "Having more people in town is always good for business. You can't say enough about having home games."

Goecken added that from a purely business perspective, it is also important for the Bearcats to win this weekend. A victory to close out the regular season means an MIAA championship. And an MIAA championship means at least one more home football game as the 'Cats move into playoff country on a quest for their fourth national championship.

As far as dollars and cents go, however, both Buholt and Goecken do have one quibble — the weather. With afternoon highs in the 70s predicted on Saturday, sweatshirts and jackets aren't exactly flying out the door.

"I was hoping it would be a little cooler so we could sell some hoodies," Buholt said.
"We're kind of ready for winter to hit," agreed Goecken.