When March Madness arrives in Albuquerque in three weeks, eight college basketball teams will descend the Pit’s ramp, carrying hopes of playing in the Final Four in April in New Orleans.
New Mexicans will have courtside seats as dramatic plays, teamwork, coaching and a bit of luck determine who advances to the next round.
But the results will also be recorded off the court, by cash registers and credit card machines.
Missouri and Ohio State played in the Pit during the NCAA Tournament in March 2002. The pit will again host NCAA Tournament games this March.
The Bernalillo County economy will receive a $5.8 million boost when the Pit hosts second- and third-round men’s NCAA Tournament games March 15 and 17, according to estimates from an economic study funded by the UNM Athletics Department.
“That’s a pretty substantial number,” says Tim Cass, a UNM senior associate athletics director. “It’s good for all of us. Good for the city, good for the state.”
It estimates state and local tax revenue will increase by $817,048, with the feds getting another $660,271.
And it’s not just the immediate dollars that will benefit the local coffers – but the tournament puts Albuquerque on the national stage.
“It’s an extremely significant business we love to have, not only for the number of people it attracts, but also the exposure,” says Dan Ballou, director of sports marketing for the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“Every newspaper bracket in the country will have Albuquerque on it. Everyone sitting at their desk filling out a bracket will see Albuquerque on them. You can’t measure how much that drives home.”
CBS and Turner Sports will capture the images and send them to wherever airwaves go. ESPN will have highlights from the Pit. Print media around the country will mention games played in Albuquerque.
“CBS,” Ballou says, “will go in and out of their breaks – ‘There’s a pressure-cooker going on out there in Albuquerque.’ It’s not only the stuff you see, the direct spending on the hotels, the rental cars, the restaurants. It’s all the stuff that spins off that is important.”
Albuquerque hosted the 1983 men’s Final Four and has hosted an NCAA men’s regional five times in past years.
But last one was in 2005.
And if UNM had not revamped the Pit, it would not be holding one in 2012.
“The NCAA said they would not return to the Pit if improvements were not made,” Cass said. “They said: ‘Regardless of your history, if you don’t have ample meeting space, ample media space, technology improvements, entertainment and hospitality areas, we’re not going back. We love you guys, you have a great basketball history, but there are so many other arenas that offer all these other things.’ ”
The $60 million renovation included luxury suites and club level seating, new video boards, an upgraded concessions area and a Lobo Den Store.
But the facility is only part of the equation.
Greg Remington, a UNM communications assistant who has been with the school for 28 years, says the NCAA looks at the facility, the city’s airport and the quality of accommodations.
“We knock it out of the park on all three of those,” Remington said. “There’s a close proximity to everything. There’s not many places in the country that have all three of those so good.”
UNM contracted the economic study with Sportsimpacts – which conducted a similar study for Super Bowl XLV – for about $15,000, because it wanted valid numbers regarding the school’s Athletics Department economic impact, Cass said.
In addition to forecasting what the NCAA games would bring in, the 2010 study focused on Lobo football, men’s and women’s basketball, the New Mexico Bowl, the New Mexico state high school basketball tournament and the Gathering of Nations, a Native American powwow held in the Pit.
The study determined those events boosted Bernalillo County income by $22.7 million in the 2009-10 academic year.
♦ The Gathering of Nations, which draws more than 500 tribes from the U.S. and Canada, led the group with an $8.1 million impact.
♦ The New Mexico State Basketball Tournament draws thousands of fans to the Pit from all over the state for five days of games, from morning to night, brings in $5.4 million.
♦ UNM football and basketball generated nearly $6 million, while the New Mexico Bowl brought in nearly $3 million.
“It wasn’t inclusive of everything we do,” Cass said. “It picked out primary events. My numbers indicate approximately 650,000 fans go to our events. But it’s probably closer to knocking on the door of a million fans when you include high school basketball, the PBR (Professional Bull Riders), camps, the New Mexico Bowl.”
Still, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is special.
“Hosting a football game against UTEP is a big event,” Cass says, “but it doesn’t have as much impact as an event like this. And (the economic factor) doesn’t even speak to the visibility. … There’s the economic impact and the public relations piece added to that. There’s the buildup, then the event itself.”
— This article appeared on page A1 of the Albuquerque Journal
