Diamondbacks Postseason Run Added $107.6M to Arizona Economy, Report Says

Article originally posted on AZ Central on March 21, 2024

The Diamondbacks’ surprise postseason success contributed $107.6 million to the state’s gross domestic product, according to one study.

According to an economic impact report done by Anthony Evans and Owain Evans of the Seidman Research Institute at Arizona State University, the Diamondbacks’ success contributed to increases in sales tax revenue, higher hotel room rates and increased customers at downtown Phoenix’s bars and restaurants.

The study was commissioned by Downtown Phoenix Inc., in partnership with the city’s Community & Economic Development Department and the nonprofit Visit Phoenix.

Chase Field hosted seven home games during the 2023 postseason, including three World Series games. A total of 336,370 ticked fans attended those seven games. According to the data from the study, the largest portion of those fans, 63.4% lived in the metro area but outside the city of Phoenix. The next largest group, 21.3%, came from outside the state.

The GDP estimate is based on the number of ticketed fans who live outside Phoenix, ballpark suite sales and the additional seven days of employment for ballpark operations and concessions staff.

The study also used data from Placer.ai, a location analytics company that uses geolocation from mobile devices to determine the most popular locations for fans before and after the games.

According to the study, the most popular destinations immediately before and after games were: Majerle’s Sports Grill, CityScape, Collier Center, The Kettle Black, Hanny’s, La Piazza Phx, Arizona Wilderness DTPHX, Copper Blues Rock Pub and the Cornish Pasty Company. Seven of those locations saw a combined increase of 30.7% on home playoff games.