The global economic effectsof COVID-19 are taking shape: markets are plummeting, consumer spending isfalling, and countries are taking emergency measures in response to the pandemic.

While several industries arebracing for (or have already taken) a hit in the wake of the virus’ spread, theimpact on the sports and events world has been swift and particularly public.

Performance Research, theworld’s leading event and sports research agency with a specialization ineconomic impact analysis, has estimated, just from those announced in the pastweek, $6 billion in economic losses and climbing due to COVID-19 relatedmajor event cancellations and postponements in the U.S.

The agency confined theiranalysis to major, nationally recognized U.S. events including the NBA seasonsuspension, the NCAA Final Four, NCAA College WorldSeries, SXSW Conference and Festivals, the Miami Open (tennis), NFL Draft, NASCARand IndyCar races, The Kentucky Derby, and NYC’s famed Broadway Theaters, whichare just a portion of affected events. (see table below for full list of eventsincluded in this analysis).

“The economic impact ofthis pandemic within the festival, conference and sports industry – and thelocal economies that host these events – is staggering,” says Bill Doyle, Vice President of PerformanceResearch. “In addition to ticket sales and sponsorship investments, theseevents support jobs and generate revenue for local businesses by bringing inthousands – sometimes hundreds of thousands – of attendees to the host cities.”

“Yes, fans are understandablydisappointed about their favorite sports events or festivals being canceled,” says Doyle, “but the economic story here is bigger:fewer drinks are being poured at bars, hotels will have massive roomcancelations, and local businesses will suffer. This will create a rippleeffect in community economies for a long time to come.”

While Performance Research’s analysisfocused on major, nationally recognized events canceled through April, the scopeof the impact related to the events industry is of course going to be muchwider when smaller-scale festivals, as well as local professional sports and collegeconferences are considered.

And the impact will bemultiplied significantly if events are canceled further into spring and summermonths (most notably, the Summer Olympics, which is currently hanging in thebalance).

Ultimately, safety is paramount,and closing events to help slow the spread of the virus is the right thing todo. The industry, though, is in uncharted waters and should bolster itself withthe information, data and research it needs to revive itself in the coming months. 

According to Jed Pearsall,president of Performance Research, “When the pandemic is over, it will not necessarilybe business as usual in the sports and festival world. Fans may have adifferent hierarchy of values, and both event organizers and sponsors will needto assess if they are reaching fans in a genuine and authentic way. Events, leagues, and corporate partners that providemeaning and value to fans’ lives will be the first to climb out of the lossesthat COVID-19 has created.”

SIGNIFICANT US EVENTSCANCELLED OR POSTPONED AS OF 3/17

About Performance Research: With more than 30 years of focus and experience,Performance Research is the industry leader for worldwide consumer research andevaluation in the event, sponsorship and experiential marketing industry.

Performance Research’sexperience covers an array of quantitative, qualitative and economic impact studiesfocused on sports events and fan festivals, as well as in-depth experience withactivation testing at music and cultural festivals and pop-up brand experiences.