Super Bowl's Economic Impact Questioned

"The official estimate is that the Feb. 4 game and the surrounding festivities will give the region a $400 million boost. But some economists who study the game's monetary impact say that's a pie-in-the-sky estimate, that the actual amount is one-tenth of that."

" 'If you move that $400 million estimate and you move the decimal point one place to the left you're much closer to what it is that it actually provides,' said Robert Baade, an economics professor at Lake Forest College in Chicago who has looked at the financial impact of Super Bowls, Olympics and World Series."

"Meanwhile, PriceWaterhouseCoopers estimates that the direct spending will be about $195 million in South Florida, which includes Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach."

"Baade contends that the NFL uses these large estimates to lure local governments into building new stadiums that could be potential Super Bowl sites. Politicians could use a successful Super Bowl to gain favor with voters, he said."