College football weekends deliver major economic boosts to local communities

Television transformed college football into a national spectacle

The rise of televised games in the mid-20th century expanded college football’s reach far beyond campus stadiums—turning regional rivalries into national events, boosting revenue, and cementing the sport as a Saturday tradition across the country.

College football generates over $11B annually—but many programs run at a loss

Despite total revenues surpassing $11.5B in 2024, college football’s high operating costs—$14.5B in the same year—mean only a handful of top programs turn large profits, while most run at a loss.

Tailgating is a cornerstone of college football culture

Hours before kickoff, fans gather in stadium parking lots and nearby lawns to grill, share drinks, and celebrate.

Hosting the NFL Draft comes with hidden public safety costs

The economic upside of hosting the Draft—Detroit reported $214 million in impact in 2024—depends on months of behind-the-scenes work. Coordinating law enforcement, emergency medical services, and traffic control entails real public costs that rarely make the headlines.

Comic-Con generates over $165M for the San Diego economy each year

San Diego’s community gets a significant boost from Comic‑Con, which draws around 135,000 attendees annually. It generates over $165M in regional spending—with more than $90M coming directly from visitors—and adds approximately $3.2M in city tax revenue.

NFL stadiums are designed to maximize profit, not number of seats

Most stadiums are actually getting smaller as the cost of land rises. Owners have sought to increase returns by designing prestige suits and clubs (rather than just more general admission) and laying out the stadium to maximize customer purchases.

US consumers spent $670M on snack food during Super Bowl week in 2024

According to Circana and NielsenIQ, Super Bowl week drove $670M in snack spending and 107 million pounds of food, with most fans watching at home, spending about $44 on food and drinks each.

National parks boost local economies, but they can also harm local land

Increased tourism and job creation are big wins for the small towns outside national parks, but the influx of visitors can also have negative effects, including wildlife destruction and overdevelopment.

College football bowl games boast some of sports’ most absurd names

From the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl to the Pop-Tarts Bowl, college football’s postseason is filled with quirky, sponsor-driven names.

The hidden effects of March Madness

March Madness isn’t just a major sporting event—it’s also peak season for vasectomies. Urologists report a 50% increase during the tournament, as patients use recovery time as an excuse to watch nonstop basketball. Meanwhile, workplace distractions from bracket pools and game streaming are estimated to cost US businesses $17 billion.

The Federal Reserve acknowledged the impact of the 'Eras' tour on regional economies

Taylor Swift’s music has become so successful, and her global fan base so extensive and so committed, her touring is as much of an economic story as it is an artistic one. Taylor’s tours bring a financial boost to sectors including hospitality and travel.

The long history of alcohol and sports

Spectators have long enjoyed alcohol at sporting events, dating back at least to ancient Rome. This article unpacks how companies leveraged this history to make beer a central part of sporting events and masculine culture.

Inside one credit union’s big NFL bet

Herndon, Virginia-based Northwest Federal Credit Union is working to bring credit unions into the spotlight. The relatively small institution just made a big splash when it struck an $8M-per-year naming rights deal with the Washington Commanders. Northwest is now the official credit union partner for the team and has turned FedEx Field into Northwest Stadium. Banking nerds and sports fans alike are paying close attention. Read this article to learn more.

A look into Major League Soccer supporter clubs

Supporter clubs are legion in Europe and South America, where soccer is an obsession. The sport is not nearly as popular in the United States, but that does seem to be changing, due in no small part to the slow success of Major League Soccer and its dedicated fan bases. This brief documentary examines a handful of American supporter clubs who sing songs, cheer wildly, and commit themselves and their families to their hometown clubs.

Understanding the basics of football

While American football may be entertaining, for fans who never played the game it can be confusing. Why do teams choose to run, pass, line up in certain defenses, run people in motion, call audibles at the line—or do any of the many other things that happen on the field?

Student debt has a widespread economic impact

Student debt is no different than the big rent or car payment that comes out of someone’s paycheck every month: Its presence affects that household’s purchasing power. Multiply that household by the 43 million Americans who had outstanding federal loan debt in September 2023, and student debt’s impact becomes considerable.

Nearly 3 million people fly in and out of US airports every day

However, not all of those passengers generate revenue for the airlines they purchase their tickets from. One business class traveler typically pays for five to six economy travelers. That's partly because airlines measure profit by the square foot, and although a business class seat is usually roughly 30% roomier than economy seats, the business class traveler usually pays about three times as much as someone sitting in economy.

Mardi Gras has an annual economic impact of nearly $900M

Tulane University's Toni Weiss studies Mardi Gras' effect on New Orleans. Her study of the 2023 parade found that the event generated approximately $891M for the local economy. Weiss also found that the money that the city spent about $10M on the parade (for security, sanitation, and more) but earned a net fiscal benefit of $28M.

Fantasy sports can also offer community

Fantasy leagues often carry over from year to year, allowing people to hang on to (or forge) connections with others. Matthew Berry, a fantasy football analyst for NBC Sports, argues, “the truth is it’s all about the people. It’s not the draft, it’s not the trash talk or the punishments … It’s the people who make the draft and the trash talk and the punishments and the winning what it is.”

Many economists see Black Friday as a litmus test for consumer confidence

Some investors and analysts look at Black Friday’s sales numbers as a way to gauge the overall health of the retail industry—and consumer confidence at large. However, others don’t believe Black Friday results have a particularly significant impact on markets, arguing that the figures only cause short-term gains or losses.

Memorial Day weekend is one of the biggest travel weekends of the year in the United States

In 2026, AAA estimated over 45 million Americans planned to travel over the long weekend, with approximately 87% of those trips made by car.

The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

Is it possible to out-eat the price you pay for a buffet? How do these places make money? We looked at the dollars and cents behind the meat and potatoes.

A typical weekend at Coachella can cost thousands of dollars

Coachella might be a cutting-edge cultural event, but it doesn't come for free. Beyond the high ticket prices—which typically start around $500—there are other costs, like lodging, food, and libations. This article spotlights four attendees who break down their expenses for the week and why, despite the hefty price tag, they were so interested in heading to the desert.

The ghost-hunting industry helps maintain historical buildings

There’s no shortage of spirit-obsessed customers in America, with an estimate that ghost-themed tours generate about $300M annually in the country.

Concierge medicine offerings are growing on college campuses, catering to students

Parents are interested in concierge and direct primary care services for their kids, including offerings with dorm visits, guaranteed same-day appointments, and medication access, so new practices have sprung up catering to college settings. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Some renewable energy sources may weaken the resiliency of electric grids by removing outage buffers provided by coal- and natural gas-fired plants, which provide the system with more time to find a new power source if a plant goes down.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

Ebola infects and disables immune cells, triggering a cascade of events that leads to small blood clots throughout the body, weakening blood vessels and interrupting blood flow to key organs.

Fireworks make a loud booming sound after exploding due to air expanding faster than the speed of sound.

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

Between 10 million and 50 million people in the US develop rashes from poison ivy, poison sumac, and poison oak each year.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'