The NCAA Men’s Final Four and its related fan-centered events generated more than $47 million in direct economic impact in San Antonio and its surrounding region, according to a new study.

The financial study, conducted for the NCAA by Performance Research, surveyed fans attending the 2008 Men’s Final Four; the Big Dance (an outdoor fan festival featuring numerous concerts and other activities); and Hoop City (an indoor fan interactive experience involving many basketball activities). The study includes local spending figures from 28 organizations involved with the events in San Antonio that were surveyed as well, such as broadcast entities, corporate partners and event-production companies.

The study calculated $47,028,729 of direct, new spending in the San Antonio metropolitan statistical area. The economic impact does not include any multiplier effects, ticket sales or spending by local residents.

“Year after year, the continued success of the Men’s Final Four demonstrates it is one of America’s great events,” said Greg Shaheen, NCAA senior vice president for basketball and business strategies. “The support from our corporate champions and corporate partners for the Men’s Final Four and all 88 NCAA championships is strong and growing. And the broad array of people attending from throughout our nation and indeed the world, even though they may not have a game ticket, is gratifying.”

The $47 million economic impact includes $36,998,151 in visitor spending; $9,799,396 in organizational spending; and $5,579,194 in taxes and charges (including hotel taxes, car rentals, sales tax, and airport passenger facility charges).

Overall, there were 56,631 visitors to San Antonio for the Men’s Final Four, the Big Dance and Hoop City. “Valid visitors” totaled 47,129 excluding those who switched a planned trip to the host city to coincide with the Final Four and those visiting for other reasons.

Valid visitors stayed an average of 3.7 days and spent an average of $223 per day in San Antonio, according to the NCAA study. When spending on merchandise is adjusted to account for only 20 percent of those funds staying in the host city, the average daily total spending by valid visitors was $211.

The $211 spending figure includes $80 on lodging; $73 on food and beverage; $29 in miscellaneous spending; $14 in transportation; $7 on retail shopping; $6 on non-NCAA entertainment; and $3 on merchandise.

Among fans attending the semifinal and championship games, 97 percent were from out of town. For Hoop City attendees, 60 percent were visitors and 40 percent were local residents. Of those attending the Big Dance, 66 percent were visitors and 34 percent were local.

Other study results noted that 49 percent of out-of-town guests were visiting San Antonio for the first time; the average household income of visitors was $135,156; 78 percent of visitors had earned college or postgraduate degrees; 75 percent of Hoop City attendees rated their experience as good or excellent; and 87 percent of Big Dance attendees rated their experience as good or excellent.