Over 100,000 fans pack Michigan Stadium 6 or 7 Saturdays every fall. The crowds also give the city's bars, restaurants, and hotels something to cheer about by boosting sales.
Maize and Blue clad fans pump money into Ann Arbor's economy every fall, but what about fans of Manchester United and Real Madrid? The Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau is anticipating this weekend should provide the same type of boost to area businesses as the 2 "Under the Lights" games against Notre Dame.
Marketing Director Laura Berarducci says in early September they should know the real impact of the game, "We are actually working with Relevant Sports to conduct an actual economic impact study of the weekend. So we're looking forward to publishing the results of that study, probably about a month after the actual event."
Michigan Stadium already hosted the Winter Classic hockey game in January and is scheduled to host a Slippery Rock football game in the fall.
If the University of Michigan continues to seek more revenues from events at Michigan Stadium this study will help area businesses know what to expect.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on Twitter— Andrew Cluley is the Ann Arbor beat reporter, and anchor for 89.1 WEMU News. Contact him at 734.487.3363 or email him acluley@emich.edu.
