Alamo Bowl brings nearly $53 mil impact to San Antonio economy

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — Organizers of the Valero Alamo Bowl say the most recent matchup between Iowa State and Washington State brought $52.9 million to the San Antonio economy.

The game also generated over $4 million in revenue for the city, county and state governments.

The Valero Alamo Bowl committee said the figure comes from a report done by an outside firm for the committee looking at the economic impact of the game.

Over 63,000 people were in the Alamodome for the game and about 80 percent of them came from outside of San Antonio — and about 65 percent of them were from outside Texas.

Overall, nearly 59 percent of all the visitors attending the game were visiting San Antonio for the first time.

“If you were anywhere in downtown San Antonio during Bowl Week, the amazing impact of the 2018 Valero Alamo Bowl was easy to see,” said Valero Alamo Bowl Chairman Michael Kiolbassa. “With each school winning seven of their last eight games, Washington State and Iowa State and their excited fan bases flocked to San Antonio to enjoy everything that makes our city such a special place.  We thank both universities for their support as well as everyone who helped make this such a memorable year highlighted by our partnerships with ESPN, Valero and Visit San Antonio.”

Along with the people watching the game in the Alamodome, just under a million more people than the historical average watched the game on ESPN.

“Every year, the Valero Alamo Bowl shines a tremendous spotlight on San Antonio,” said Casandra Matej, President and CEO of Visit San Antonio. “From its consistently outstanding television ratings to the ability to introduce our city to visiting fans, the game provides a powerful platform. That has never been truer than the 2018 contest, which showcased our warm and inviting community to more than 41,000 out-of-state visitors, all of whom went back to Washington and Iowa as ambassadors for all that San Antonio has to offer.”

The Valero Alamo Bowl features the top Pac-12 and Big 12 teams that are not participants in the College Football Playoff.