What is Your Impact?

The last study, which was completed just a couple weeks ago was an Economic Impact Study.  Now, keep in mind, in O’Fallon we are a department and spend around $3.6 million in an average year.  This study turned out to be very interesting.  Also remember, we don’t have enough money to do a $40,000 gate survey of all the teams traveling.   But we have a pretty good handle on who is coming and from where to play at the sport complex.  So, the following are a few of the facts.  

• Development strategies determine 128,000 "visitor days" are generated each year for athletic programs.   A visitor day is defined as a single participant or spectator who does not reside in O’Fallon.
• Visitors days trigger $1,603,000 in local spending per year.  (food, drinks, gas, retail and estimated hotels for five percent  (which I believe to be very low; without a gate study-you go with the low).
• Employ 13 full-time year-round and 215 seasonal basis
• Total direct spending by the department plus out-of-town visitors comes to $5,187,750 annually. This triggers multiplier impacts throughout the area.  These impacts were measured at the city, county, and the state levels.  Multiplier analysis is the city of O’Fallon (excluding the direct impact of the parks and recreation itself) shows that spending by department and the out-of-town visitors:

o             Adds $4.7 million in economic activity (i.e. sales or transactions) in the city’s economy,

o             Adds $1.2 million in earnings for city households, and

o             Support another 43 jobs in the city in addition to the 228 jobs supported directly by the department.

• Multiplier analysis for St. Clair Co (including O’Fallon) shows the same pending:

o             Adds another $6.72 million in economic activity in the county (about $6 million more outside the city)

o             Adds $2.34 million in earnings for county households ($2.31 million outside of the city), and

o             Supports another 61 jobs in the county (18 outside of the city).

• Multiplier analysis for all of Illinois (including St. Clair county) shows that the same spending:

o             Adds another $8.10 million in economic activity in the state (about $1.38 million more outside of the county),

o             Adds $5.29 million in earnings for state households ($2.95 million outside of the county, and

o             Supports another 79 jobs in the state (18 outside of the county). 

Thank goodness I am not a statistician.  I do know we now have a great look at the economic engine that drives parks at all levels.  

 

Mary Jeanne Hutchison, Director

O'Fallon Parks and Recreation Department