Study shows football weekends pay out for local businesses
BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech home football games draw an influx of out-of-town fans – a boon to many businesses in the region. The visiting maroon-and-orange contingent now has a dollar value: $69 million.
The annual economic impact figure comes from a Virginia Tech study that shows restaurants, hotels, and shops benefitting most from football-generated dollars spent in the region.
Football's economic impact tripled in the 15 years since the last economic impact study was done, according to the analysis. The five biggest categories where visitors dropped their dimes were hotels, restaurants, shops, grocery stores, and gas stations.