Big game, big bucks

On crisp fall Saturday afternoons with20,000 fans packing the University ofNevada's Mackay Stadium for footballgames, the region's economy feels some ofthe excitement.The Reno-Sparks community, especiallylarge casino-hotels and restaurants,benefits greatly from UNRgames. The university alsoreceives substantial revenuefrom games.Rory Hickok, assistantathletic director for development,said university athleticevents including footballgames bring millions ofdollars a year into the localeconomy."John [Nunn, the associateathletic director forbusiness], did a study a coupleof years ago outliningwhat the economic impactis in a given year," Hickoksaid. "We were able toextract number from theRSCVA [Reno-SparksConvention and VisitorsAuthority] and were able toconservatively estimate ourimpact is anywhere from$17 million to $20 million."One establishment thatreceives plenty of businessfrom UNR football gamesis The Little WaldorfSaloon at 1661 N. VirginiaSt. across from the university.The saloon hosts tailgateparties after every WolfPack football games as wellas other sporting events.Kim Benson, district manager forSparky's Corp., the company that runsthe bar, said it benefits greatlyfrom games."We have fans from both teams comeover and we love it," Benson said. "I can'tsee any negativity to it. It's a good adultcollege crowd."A vast amount of this revenue comesfrom visiting teams and fans. Hickoksaid approximately 12,000 to 20,000 outof-town fans attend Wolf Pack gamesover the course of a year.For the Wolf Pack's first home gamethis year against Brigham YoungUniversity, the visitors from Provobrought about 5,000 fans with them. Bycontrast, the next game against RiceUniversity brought out only about 300Rice fans."It's a positive snowball effect,"UNR's Hickok said. "If you have 4,000to 5,000 people coming from out-oftownfor a specific game it translatesinto room nights for hotel propertiesand such."Hickok said attendance at games has abig impact on the university's athleticrevenue. He said any game generatesabout $500,000 as fans buy tickets at anaverage of $20 each. Vendor sales such asfood and beverages add to the total.The gross income from games far outweighsthe cost. The average cost to puton a football game is roughly $30,000.Oddly, Nevada is one of the few universitiesthat do not charge for parking atgames. Hickok said the school wants toprovide an incentive to come tothe games.The expansion of Mackay Stadiumand the program's step up from NCAADivision I-AA status to Division I-Acollege football has helped head economicgrowth. It provides the opportunitiesfor bigger opponents that have a greaterfan base to come to Reno for games."We've experienced phenomenalgrowth changing conferences from theBig Sky to the Big West to the WesternAthletic Conference," Hickok said."We're probably one of the fastest if notthe fastest growing mid-major programsin the country."Conversely, the move up in class forthe team has had some downturns aswell. Since Nevada is now playingstronger opposition within its conferenceand non-conference games, the WolfPack has not fared well compared withyears past in smaller conferences. Thathas resulted in a drop in attendance, asHickok pointed out fans would prefer tocome see a winning product on the field."People want to support a winner,"Hickok said. "History has shown thatwhen this football program wins, thecommunity will support it. Win and theywill come."He said UNR is trying to get the programto where it averages 20,000-25,000 fansper game.