By Betsy Scheinbart
The 2000 US Open generated nearly $420 million in direct revenue for the tristate area, more than any other annual sports or entertainment event in the United States, results of an economic survey showed Monday.
The US Open is held in Flushing Meadows’ Arthur Ashe Stadium and National Tennis Center. The United States Tennis Association and New York City Comptroller Alan Hevesi announced the results of the study, which was conducted by Sports Management Research Institute.
“New York City has one of the best municipal stadium deals in the country with the USTA and the presence of the US Open in the city,” Hevesi said.
“The benefits go well beyond the prestige and enjoyment brought to the city by the tournament. The Open generated tremendous economic activity, including thousands of jobs and tax revenue,” Hevesi said.
More than 11,000 jobs were created as a result of the event, which brought in $57.4 million in local, state and federal business taxes.
“The US Open and the USTA National Tennis Center, the world’s largest public tennis facility, have generated more revenue, more jobs and more international media exposure for the city of New York than any other annual event,” said Arien Kantarian, the chief executive of Professional Tennis.
The nearly $420 million in economic benefit from the US Open is up more than 125 percent from the figure in the previous Economic Impact Study conducted by the comptroller’s office in 1996.
The 1996 study was done prior to the opening of Arthur Ashe Stadium and the refurbishment of the National Tennis Center.
The economic impact of the 2000 US Open was 3 percent of the total economic impact of tourism for the city in the millennium year.
Of the 606,017 US Open attendees, 47 percent were visiting from outside the New York area and 50 percent had a more favorable impression of the city because of their Open experience, according to the study.
The only U.S.-based event that had a larger impact on a geographic area was the 1996 Atlantic Olympics, which generated $2.5 billion for the economy during its run over three weeks in the summer of 1996.
Reach reporter Betsy Scheinbart by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300 Ext. 138.
