Outback Bowl brings pageantry, cash to Tampa

White sand, blue sky and green dollars

When the Outback Bowl brings its college color and pageantry to the Tampa Bay area, the fans follow and bring their cash.

“We’re going to be here through the game,” said Todd Watson, who with his wife are here from Lexington, SC. “You know, Monday through Thursday when the game is over, so it’ll be a good impact on your city, I’m sure… Millions.”

John Kauffman and his family are here from Kansas to support their Iowa Hawkeyes.

“There are a lot of Hawkeye activities going on and we plan on participating in most of those and just having a fun time” Kauffman said.

The Outback Bowl estimates all of that fun and activity is translating into dollars in Tampa.

“We think the economic impact is somewhere in excess of $40 million annually,” said Jim McVay, Outback Bowl CEO. “You know, we’re bringing in 20, 30 thousand people from out of market, they get a chance to come down here and they’re spending four or five days, there in the hotels, restaurants, night clubs, car rental agencies, and the airport and those dollars multiply of course, they keep moving throughout the community.”

The Outback Bowl plans days like this on the beach for the fans, the bands and the team.

The bowl committee also plans visits to venues like Busch Gardens.

Busch Gardens says it’s difficult for them to put a dollar figure on the impact of the bowl game on their business, because it comes at a busy time of year with holiday visits. But McVay said the game also generates positive PR with news and sports coverage across the country.

“And all these positive, beautiful impressions are going back to South Carolina, are going back to Iowa and throughout the Midwest,” McVay said. “You can’t buy that kind of exposure for our community.”