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2018 Austin Marathon Contributes $37.5 Million to Austin Economy

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Race weekend once again proves financially beneficial for Austin economy

The 2018 Austin Marathon® injected $37.5 million into the Austin economy during race weekend. Click To Tweet The Austin Marathon was able to better calculate its economic impact by utilizing the faculty expertise at St. Edward’s University’s Bill Munday School of Business for the second year in a row. This year’s economic impact on the City of Austin is a $3.1 million (8 percent) increase from the 2017 event.

“The increase of this year’s economic impact report highlights the growth of Austin’s flagship running event, the ever-increasing financial impact it has on the city, and the belief that Austin is a destination for runners from around the world,” said Stacy Keese, co-owner of High Five Events.

An ever-growing partnership

Dr. Ali Dadpay conducted the research for the 2018 Austin Marathon economic impact report. He is a professor of Economics for The Bill Munday School of Business. This year, Dr. Dadpay also looked at High Five Events’ localized spending, volunteer contributions, and jobs created, to measure the direct, indirect and induced economic impact. Dr. Dadpay expects the Austin Marathon’s economic impact to continue growing with the increase of out-of-state and overseas participants and the addition of new routes and new airlines at Austin Bergstrom International Airport.

“The Austin Marathon is becoming a driver of sustainable development in Austin’s metropolitan area and we can see its continuity is paying dividends for our economy,” said Dr. Dadpay. “The Austin Marathon’s economic impact is widespread, benefiting the tourism and hospitality industries the most.”

In 2019, High Five Events and St. Edward’s will work to better understand spectator contributions, the value generated by social media, digital marketing, and digital brand recognition. This is an understudied aspect of such events. Other cities are looking into ways to measure the true impact of marathon events. The Austin Marathon is excited about the continued growth of their partnership with St. Edward’s University.

Austin Marathon and St. Edward’s University Broaden Partnership

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Collaboration will focus on enhanced economic impact and highlight St. Edward’s University experts

High Five Events is proud to announce the expanded partnership between St. Edward’s University and  the Austin Marathon® presented by NXP. Two of Austin’s more recognized entities will work together to showcase the marathon’s economic impact on Austin by engaging faculty expertise at The Bill Munday School of Business.

“The Austin Marathon’s economic impact has always been a stimulator for the local economy” said Stacy Keese, co-owner of High Five Events. “Strengthening our relationship with St. Edward’s will magnify what we’re doing and provide a report that better represents the true economic impact.”

By expanding the partnership with St. Edward’s University, the Austin Marathon will have access to some of the top economic experts in the country, including Associate Dean, Ali Dadpay, who is leading the research for the economic impact report. The 2017 report will include High Five Event’s localized spending, volunteer contributions, jobs created, vendor and supplier additions, and sponsors’ spending. Like previous reports, how much money was spent by participants on hotels, travel, entertainment, and meals will be included.

“This economic impact study allows The Bill Munday School of Business to continue its mission driven work by engaging Austin’s business community in finding answers to important questions for our regional economy,” said Ali Dadpay, MBA director for The Bill Munday School of Business. “As Austin continues to grow as a hub of innovation and economic activity, it is important to generate knowledge locally – about local challenges and opportunities – using globally accepted methods and benchmarks.”

The 2016 Austin Marathon contributed $25.7 million to the Austin economy.

About NXP Semiconductors: NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) enables secure connections and infrastructure for a smarter world, advancing solutions that make lives easier, better, and safer. As the world leader in secure connectivity solutions for embedded applications, NXP is driving innovation in the secure connected vehicle, end-to-end security and privacy, and smart connected solutions markets. Built on more than 60 years of combined experience and expertise, the company has 45,000 employees in more than 35 countries and posted revenue of $6.1 billion in 2015. Find out more at www.nxp.com.

About St. Edward’s University: St. Edward’s University is a private, liberal arts college in the Catholic, Holy Cross tradition with approximately 4,600 students. Located in Austin, Texas, it is one of the top universities in Texas and offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including MBA programs and a master’s degree in counseling. With a network of partner universities around the world, St. Edward’s is a diverse community with programs designed to inspire students with a global perspective. St. Edward’s University has been recognized for 14 consecutive years as one of “America’s Best Colleges” by U.S. News & World Report and ranks in the top 20 Best Regional Universities in the Western Region. For more information on St. Edward’s University, visit stedwards.edu/about.