Attendance was down, the Olympics were going on, but last summer's Pilot Pen Tennis Tournament pumped more than $26 million dollars into New Haven, according to an economic impact analysis released Tuesday.
This was the first time an analysis was done on the tournament, and while tournament officials say previous years would have produced higher figures, they are very pleased. Over the course of the event, 37,450 people attended and watched about two days of events.
The Greater New Haven Convention and Visitors Bureau estimated that the 2007 tournament impact was at least $50 million.
“We were certain the impact Pilot Pen Tennis has on the New Haven economy was significant, but we were pleasantly surprised with this report.” tournament director Anne Worcester said. “When you consider that the Pilot Pen had more than $26 million in economic impact, even in a faltering US economy, it speaks volumes about the value of the Tournament and how much potential there is for this number to grow, which is also essential for economic recovery.”
Tuesday's study took into account about $19.4 million in direct impact and another $6.8 million in indirect impact. Direct spending is the amount of out-of-town visitors, sponsors, exhibitors and vendors contribute to the area.
