(The Center Square) – Sporting events in Georgia attract millions of people every year, including international visitors, senators heard Tuesday.
The Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism met at EchoPark to hear from industry leaders on what drives tourism in their sector.
President of Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena Andrew Saltzman said their venue has over 2 million visitors annually and maintains 450 full-time employees and 1,700 part-time employees.
“For us, we do about 160 ticketed events a year,” said Saltzman. “That’s your 40 to 50 Hawks games and another 100 between concerts, other sporting events, think your UFC’s, WWE’s, Disney on Ice, Globetrotters, and that doesn’t account for all the private events. We’re busy probably 220-230 days a year so it’s very active down at State Farm Arena.”
Meanwhile, Truist Park has about 450 full-time employees plus another 2,600 game day staff to run 81 home games for the Atlanta Braves. The venue welcomes visitors from around the world, according to Jennifer Mastin Giglio, communications executive for the Atlanta Braves and The Battery.
“We are seeing a very, very robust business there and the impact is real,” said Giglio. “We generated more than $112 million in state and local taxes from 2020 to 2024 from The Battery alone so the state is seeing real impact.”
Last year included 375 events between Truist Park and The Battery, Giglio told the committee. The baseball games alone sold tickets in all 50 states and 12 countries.
Another hub for major events is the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, which is the busiest super stadium in the world, according to President of AMB Sports and Entertainment Tim Zulawski. It hosts the Falcons and feasts on college football in the heart of the Southeastern Conference.
“When you think about economic impact, please don’t think just about restaurants and hotel rooms being full – and that is great for those in that space,” Zulawski said. “But the sport and entertainment business has a much grander impact as it shows off the state, region, and cities that make up the state in a wide way.”
The competition from surrounding states is less about attracting major events but ensuring funds are there to support the major events when they come, according to Nick Fernandez, Government Affairs coordinator for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
“A lot of these states, a lot of these cities are just putting dollars out there just to attract the events,” said Fernandez. “We’ve got the venues, we’ve got the partnerships, we’ve got that success story so we’ve never been in the position where we’ve had to advocate for dollars just to attract the events here. We’re very fortunate in that respect.”
Tennessee put $10 million toward attracting major events in Nashville and North Carolina is using 30% of its sports betting revenue to attract major events, Fernandez said.
When asked by Sen. Emanuel Jones about the potential for sports betting in Georgia, which is currently illegal, Fernandez said it was worth considering.
“The Senate has moved some legislation over to the House,” Fernandez said. “We’ll see if that’s taken up next year and where that issue lies. We certainly see sports betting as a potential revenue source for major sporting events.”
Several bills that would have taken on the issue last year failed to advance.
