Tennis’ 2000 US Open Nets $420m for Local Economy

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) and New York City Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi today revealed the findings of a recent study of the Economic Impact of the 2000 US Open on the New York Metropolitan region. The study, conducted by Sport Management Research Institute (SMRI), found that the 2000 US Open generated just under $420 million in direct revenue for the tri-state area, more than any other annual sports or entertainment event in any city in the United States.

‘The US Open and the USTA National Tennis Center, the world’s largest public tennis facility, have generated more revenue, more jobs and more international media exposure for the City of New York than any other annual event,’ said Arlen Kantarian, Chief Executive, Professional Tennis. ‘We are proud to join the City of New York and the Comptroller’s Office to show just how valuable this partnership is, for both the City and for the game of tennis.’

‘New York City has one of the best municipal stadium deals in the country with the USTA and the presence of the US Open in the City,’ said Hevesi. ‘The benefits go well beyond the prestige and enjoyment brought to the City by the tournament. The Open generates tremendous economic activity, including thousands of jobs and tax revenue. All this, and we receive a healthy rent and revenue share from the USTA. As an added bonus, the USTA-financed facility is open to the public 300 days a year.’

The roughly $420 million of economic benefit represents a substantial increase of over 125% from the previous Economic Impact Study on the event, which was conducted by the Comptrollers office in November of 1996. That study showed a direct impact on the area of $159 million, and was done prior to the opening of Arthur Ashe Stadium and the refurbishment of the USTA National Tennis Center, which began in 1997 and was paid for by the USTA without direct taxpayer subsidy. The USTA National Tennis Center, in addition to hosting the US Open annually, is the world’s largest public tennis facility.

Some key facts include:

The 2000 US Open economic impact is 3% of the total economic impact of tourism for New York in the Millennium Year.

The total number of full-time equivalent jobs created either directly or indirectly from the staging of the event, was 11,437.

The total indirect business taxes generated for local, state and federal governments was $57.4 million.

Of those surveyed:

94.2% plan to re-visit the NYC Metro area in the next two years, the highest re-visitation response ever captured by SMRI research.

76.2% come to New York City solely to attend the US Open.

49.8% had a more favorable opinion of New York because of attending the US Open.

46.9% are from outside of the New York area.

The only U.S.-based event that had a larger impact on a geographic area was the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, which generated $2.5 billion for the economy during its run over three weeks in the summer of 1996.

This announcement is the latest in a series of recent initiatives that the USTA has undertaken to position the US Open as one of the world’s top sports and entertainment events.

Recent developments have also included the moving of the 2001 women’s final to prime time on CBS for the first time in Grand Slam history, a landmark international television rights deal with SFX, a record prize money purse that will top again $15 million, record on-site attendance of over 606,000, record traffic on USOPEN.ORG and a host of on-site innovations at the USTA National Tennis Center, ranging from giant video boards to star-studded on-site entertainment.

For more information contact:

Joe Favorito
USTA Director of Publicity and Media Relations
(914) 697-2327
Favorito@usta.com

Cathie Levine
Director of Communications
NYC Comptroller’s Office
(212) 669-3747
pressofc@comptroller.nyc.gov