Spyridon: SEC tournament brought million in spending

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Spyridon: SEC tournament brought $12 million in spending

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Wednesday, 24 March 2010 11:13

An initial estimate by the head of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau puts the visitor spending of fans at this past weekend’s Southeastern Conference Men’s Basketball tournament at $12 million.

Bureau president Butch Spyridon said the estimate is based on the sold-out, 17,000-seat Bridgestone Arena and the assumption that 2,000 fans were local and that the remaining 15,000 fans booked three nights in a local hotel.

“I truly believe we will raise the estimate,” Spyridon wrote in an e-mail.

A calculation of the tournament’s overall economic impact will be released at a later date by the Nashville Sports Council.

The economic impact of the tournament averaged $10 million in 2001 and 2006, the last two times it was held in Nashville. The 2006 tournament drew $14.4 million in economic impact and 11,282 hotel room nights, according to the sports council.

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