How Much Is Super Bowl XLIX Worth to Arizona?

Phoenix welcomes football fans from across the country to its city this weekend for Super Bowl XLIX. The showdown between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks is expected to attract 100,000 visitors to the region—but will the big game give the host city a financial boost?

The Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee expects this year’s game, which will be played at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, to give the state’s economy a $500 million boost.

But Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers has a different view.  While he’s looking forward to hosting the Super Bowl, he says he’s concerned about Glendale’s ability to afford upfront costs, including $2.1 million in additional security.

“The Super Bowl is going to benefit our city, the region and the state of Arizona,” Mayor Weiers told FOX Business Network. “The money that’s paid upfront for public safety costs has been my complaint. That’s the thing I’ve been talking about for more than a year. This whole thing started when I asked the state to help out with the public safety costs.”

Arizona’s state government rejected a bill that would have reimbursed the city of Glendale for half of the public-safety cost, which Mayor Weiers argues the state should pay since it will benefit from the game.

“The furthest thing from the truth is that we don’t want the Super Bowl.  I’d love to have the Super Bowl every year if we could,” Mayor Weiers said.  “But what I’m trying to make happen is for the state to step up and be a partner with the city along with the NFL.  The state benefits more than anyone.  All of the cities benefit through state-shared revenues.  My city should not brunt the burden when every city benefits from the event.”

When Glendale hosted the Super Bowl in 2008, the city estimates it lost $1.6 million.

Although it won’t be determined until after this weekend whether the city of Glendale will lose money on the Super Bowl, plenty of cash will be exchanging hands in the Grand Canyon State.

PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates the game will generate $206 million in direct spending in the Phoenix area in lodging, tourism and transportation by the NFL, fans and media.

And attending the Super Bowl will cost fans a pretty penny.  The current average price for Super Bowl tickets is $9,484.37, with a get-in price of $7,087, according to TiqIQ.  Seats in the 200’s level are averaging $7,251 and seats in the 100’s level are selling for an average of $6,206.

But the game doesn’t just impact Arizona’s economy. More than 100 million Americans are expected to watch Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, and consumers are expected to spend a record $14.3 billion on game day food, drinks, and even TVs, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation.

And consumers are not the only ones spending the big bucks. A 30-second advertisement slot during the game will cost $4.5 million, according to SuperBowl-Ads.com. That’s a half-a-million-dollar increase from last year.  More than 70 advertisers will be featured in Sunday's game.

Anheuser-Busch InBev has been the top advertiser for the past five Super Bowls, spending a combined $152.5 million, according to Kanter Media.  The next four biggest spenders: Chrysler Group ($89.5 million), PepsiCo ($76.6 million), Hyundai ($69.8 million) and Volkswagen ($68.1 million).

Super Bowl XLIX will kick off at 6:30 p.m. on February 1.