Tucson sees $1.74M surge in tourism from Arizona Bowl
Jan 28, 2018, 1:01 PM
(Arizona Bowl Facebook Photo)
(Arizona Bowl Facebook Photo)
PHOENIX — Tucson saw a $1.74 million boost to the city’s tourism dollars as out-of-state travelers came to support their team in last month’s Arizona Bowl.
According to the Las Cruces Sun-News, the city of Tucson benefited from the more than 39,000 people who attended the December matchup between the New Mexico State Aggies and the Aggies of Utah State.
The attendance of 39,132 at the game was a record.
Attendees apparently spent their money on plenty of food, drinks and lodging.
Metro Tucson hotel properties averaged a 67.6 percent occupancy rate from Dec. 25 to Dec. 31. On game night, that rate swelled to 87.1 percent, the story said.
In 2017, the average daily hotel rate throughout the region during the same time of year was $110 — 13.1 percent higher than the year before.
New Mexico State fans no doubt made the trek west to see their team at Arizona Stadium.
Last month’s Arizona Bowl marks the first bowl game victory for New Mexico State (7-6) which hadn’t won a bowl game since 1960. The team beat Utah State 26-20 in overtime.
Overall in 2017, Tucson hotels and resorts generated a total of $8.25 million for the week ending Dec. 31.
