BNP Paribas makes an economic impact of more than $417 million in the Coachella Valley

BNP Paribas makes an economic impact of more than $417 million in the Coachella Valley

Photo by Coachella Valley’s Tony Fernandez

The 2014 BNP Paribas Open, the largest WTA and ATP World Tour combined two-week event in the world, held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden this past March, generated an estimated total gross economic impact on the Coachella Valley regional economy of $373,898,629, it was announced today by Steve Simon, tournament director.

This represents an increase of $84,611,097 (29.25 percent) since 2011 when the last BNP Paribas Open economic impact study was conducted and the estimated total gross economic impact was $289,287,532. The first study was conducted in 2001, and since that time there has been an increase of more than $272 million in economic impact. Each study was performed by The George Washington University, which uses estimates for direct and indirect impact that are based on carefully selected methodology, visitor survey results, and the data provided by the organizers and sponsors.

Total gross economic impact is derived by calculating the direct ($238,151,993) and indirect and induced ($135,746,636) economic impacts and then adding them together to show the incremental spending above and beyond what would have been expected had the BNP Paribas Open not been held in the area. Direct spending includes money spent by out-of-town visitors, vendors, sponsors, and the tournament organization to a business in the region. Indirect and induced impact is the re-spending of this money by the regional businesses in the regional economy.

The study also examined the impact that the construction of the new Stadium 2 and renovations to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden had on the local economy, and when this is factored into the equation, the gross economic impact rose to $417,624,972.

A total of 431,527 people attended the tournament over the two week period earlier this year, an increase from 350,086 in 2011. On average each person attended the tournament 3.27 days resulting in 131,965 unique spectators. An impressive 86 percent of these spectators traveled from outside the region equating to 113,490 out-of-town visitors from which the economic impact is calculated. This represents an 18.87 percent increase from 2011 when 84 percent of spectators came from outside the region resulting in 95,478 out-of-town visitors.

“The growth the BNP Paribas Open has seen over the past three years, both in attendance and improvements to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, has been significant and we are very proud that it is reflected in our economic impact study.” said Simon. “It is very rewarding to know so many businesses throughout our Valley benefit from our multi-week event with the influx of fans, players, media, officials and sponsors who enjoy the numerous restaurants and shopping and entertainment options the Valley offers.”

Other data compiled from consumer spending habits include the average amount spent per person per day on local entertainment and attractions ($147.24, increase of 323.71 percent), local transportation ($67.39, increase of 83.67 percent), local shopping (2014 – $102.76, increase of 73.41 percent) and accommodations ($226.08, increase of 50.88 percent). Total expenditure per spectator per day for an average 5 night stay in paid accommodations increased 36.28 percent to $527.30 in 2014.

For more information about the BNP Paribas Open, and to order tickets for the event, please call the Indian Wells Tennis Garden Box Office, (800) 999-1585, or visit www.bnpparibasopen.com.

About the BNP Paribas Open:
The BNP Paribas Open is the largest ATP World Tour and WTA combined two-week event in the world, and is held annually at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The site has undergone a significant expansion that includes a new permanent Stadium 2 with 8,000 seats and three restaurants, including world-renowned Nobu; four more practice courts, an additional 19,000 square foot shade structure, and more. The tournament offers more than $10 million in prize money, and is the only event to provide the Hawkeye line challenge system on all match courts, including qualifying rounds. In 2014, more than 431,000 people attended the event. For more information or to purchase tickets visit www.bnpparibasopen.com, call 800-999-1585 or the Indian Wells Tennis Garden box office at 78-200 Miles Avenue, Indian Wells, CA, 92210.

About BNP Paribas:
BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) has a presence in nearly 80 countries with 190,000 employees, including 145,000 in Europe. It ranks highly in its three core activities: Retail Banking, Investment Solutions and Corporate & Investment Banking. In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the leader in consumer lending. BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail banking model across Mediterranean basin countries, in Turkey, in Eastern Europe and a large network, Bank of the West, in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Investment Banking and Investment Solutions activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas and solid and fast-growing businesses in Asia-Pacific.