Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre was chosen to play 11th Pro Bowl. On this January 3rd photo Favre celebrated a “touchdown” against the NY Giants./EFE

Organizers of the Pro Bowl argue that the most value will not come from the dollars that visiting fans will leave behind, but from the branding derived from both events.

“For people like us involved in the marketing South Florida as a destination, the value in branding that these events will provide is immeasurable,” said Rolando Aedo, Vice President of Marketing of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. “It will have a greater [branding] impact than the monetary impact that these events will have on our area”.

The branding will be valuable because millions of fans will be watching both events around the world and constantly be reminded of South Florida as a great destination, hopefully motivating many of them to choose Miami as their next vacation spot, Aedo explained.

Still, the US$500 million plus, that the city is expected to receive from both events will be a welcome change for the local economy, particularly for hotel, restaurants and other troubled members of the hospitality industry that have been hit hard by the recession.

During the 2007 Super Bowl, more than 112,000 people visited South Florida, and spent $280 million on the same week, according to a report by the Sports Management Research Institute (SMRI) of West Palm Beach. The event also provided an additional $183 million in indirect spending, derived from the game’s preparations and the subsequent circulation of tourist dollars.

“But you don’t have to actually go to the game to have a Super Bowl experience,” Aedo said. “We are going to have a series of events, including parties and promotions, in which many people, especially the team’s fans, will want to participate”.

According to the SMRI report, visitors that attended Super Bowl in 2007 spent on average $668.80 for each of the four to five days that they stayed in South Florida in bars, hotels, restaurants and other forms of entertainment. That amount represented a 66% increase over the $401.12 average spent in South Florida during the 1999 Super Bowl.

The number of visitors expected for the January 31st Pro Bowl game, which is being held outside Hawaii for the first time in 30 years, is considerably lower, although tickets have been selling at a relatively strong pace.

NFL officials will be watching the game’s attendance closely, since this is also the first time that this game is held at the fringes of the Super Bowl.

“Previously, this game was held two weeks after the Super Bowl. This is an experiment, but there are expectations of greater success for the Pro Bowl under this format. We really don’t know yet if that will be the case, but so far ticket sales have been strong and they have sold more tickets than they had around this time last year”, Aedo said.

Antonio María Delgado. Miami