ST. LOUIS – The president of the St. Louis Sports Commission said getting the 2018 SEC Men's Tournament to STL is a huge get for our city. Now the Commission wants to figure out just how huge. The organization hired a local professor to conduct a survey to calculate how much money fans will spend over the five-day tournament.
Director of Sports Business at Washington University, Dr. Patrick Rishe, is leading the study. Some of his students will have up to 500 fans complete a two-page survey to gauge daily spending.
Rishe said he's helped conduct more than 80 economic impact studies including several in St. Louis. He said taking a sample size of fans spending habits is just one component of trying to figure out direct spending in the city. He said much of the study's accuracy depends on how transparent the SEC is about its spending.
The tournament wraps up on Sunday. Rishe said it could take up to four months for survey results.
