UEFA Cup Final delivers real economic benefit to Glasgow
 |
The 2007 UEFA Cup Final was contested by FC Sevilla and RCD Espanyol at Glasgow’s Hampden Park on Wednesday 16th May 2007. It was eventually won by Sevilla on penalties, after a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes and the match being tied at 2-2 after extra time.
The official attendance at the UEFA Cup Final was just over 47,000 which included 25,000 supporters from Sevilla and Espanyol and 22,000 neutral fans, including football officials, sponsors and corporate hospitality attendees.
The organisation of the Final itself and the associated events were widely acclaimed by many visitors, including the representatives of UEFA and the visiting teams and supporters.
The UEFA Cup Final and its related activities were organised by a Local Organising Committee (LOC) comprising: representatives of the Scottish Football Association; Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, Hampden Park Limited, Strathclyde Police, BAA Scotland and Glasgow City Council.
The LOC co-ordinated the activities of these partner organisations, working alongside Uefa and its commercial agency - TEAM Marketing - in the successful delivery of managing the ‘Road to the Final’ and the UEFA Cup Final itself.
The economic impact of the UEFA Cup Final has now been calculated by global analysts Experian who were commissioned by Glasgow City Marketing Bureau (GCMB) to undertake an assessment of the event.
The results have been drawn from a combination of primary data sources from surveys with the finalists’ supporters, neutral fans, attending media, consultations with key stakeholders, and an analysis of other secondary data.
Major findings comprised:
- £11.5 million of net economic benefit for the metropolitan Glasgow area representing an ROI of 1:23 on the city’s contribution of £500,000.
- The average spend per trip per person was £411 and £219 for finalist supporters and neutral fans respectively – well above average tourism expenditure levels.
- One in every nine supporter used www.seeglasgow.com
- 91 per cent of supporters visited a bar or café/restaurant.
- 58 per cent of supporters shopped during their trip, and 16 per cent visited a gallery, museum, exhibition or show.
- The local economy will continue to benefit from the 2007 UEFA Cup Final in future years with 55 per cent and 75 per cent of all fans likely or very likely to visit Glasgow and Scotland respectively in the next three years.
- Almost 91 per cent of all fans thought the quality of their visit was either good or very good.
Within the qualitative section of the survey respondents also highlighted a range of positive comments about the city such as the friendliness of its people and Strathclyde Police and the excellent organisation and atmosphere during their visit to Glasgow for the UEFA Cup Final.
Separate analyses of television and press coverage carried out by UEFA and Media Measurement Ltd meanwhile reported that 19 million viewers and almost 26 million newspaper readers respectively watched or read about the Cup Final across the UK and Europe.
The equivalent advertising value of the print coverage achieved is estimated at being in excess of £1 million.
In addition the bespoke microsite www.seeglasgow.com/uefa created by GCMB attracted 90,000 unique visitors, which equated to 600,000 page views.
Commenting on Experian’s economic analysis, Councillor Steven Purcell, Leader of Glasgow City Council and Chair of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, said: “This report vividly demonstrates the economic argument for the city’s hosting of major sporting events as well as offering extremely useful support material for our bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
“Glasgow’s staging of the UEFA Cup Final in May this year resulted in £11.5 million in local economic benefit, representing 23 times the city's own contribution of £500,000.
“It is further anticipated that in excess of 20,000 Spanish visitors will come to Glasgow within the next three years as a direct result of the city having hosted the UEFA Cup Final.
“Events of this stature not only give city a global platform for its event management credentials but also provide visiting fans with a taste of what else the city has to offer - prompting both return visits and endorsements of Glasgow to family and friends back home.”
David Findlay, Head of Football Administration at the Scottish Football Association and Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, said: "The 2007 UEFA Cup Final was a wonderful event that not only demonstrated the capabilities of Scotland to stage world class events but also emphasised Glasgow's appeal as a visitor destination.
“The local hotels, bars, restaurants and other businesses enjoyed the opportunity to showcase what they can offer and our visitors and local population joined together to create a colourful party atmosphere on match day.”
“Based on our experiences following our hosting of the UEFA Champions League Final in 2002, Glasgow not only enjoyed a significant economic upturn in the week of the UEFA Cup Final but can also look forward to further economic benefits from those who return to Glasgow in the months and years ahead."
Joe Aitken – Head of Events at Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, commented: “These findings demonstrate the added value that GCMB can bring to the delivery of international events at the very highest level including maximising their potential to image Glasgow through outstanding event management, web, PR and marketing activity.“
A copy of the executive summary of the economic impact of the Uefa Cup Final 2007 can be viewed at www.seeglasgow.com/uefa
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Moira Dyer, Senior Manager – Public Relations
Glasgow City Marketing Bureau
T: +44 (0) 141 566 0831.
E-mail: moira.dyer@seeglasgow.com
Note to editors:
- Experian is a global leader in providing analytical and information services to organisations and consumers to help manage the risk and reward of commercial and financial decisions.
Quotes
David Kells, Executive Director – Hampden Park Limited, added: “Another great Final for Hampden Park and Glasgow. The atmosphere in the Stadium and around the city is guaranteed whenever we host a major event and leaves our visitors with positive memories of their time in Glasgow.
“Hampden’s reputation as one of the world’s iconic stadia has been further enhanced.”
James Bream, Managing Economist - Business Strategies, Experian, added: “The UEFA Cup Final 2007 was a huge success for Glasgow generating nearly £10 million of additional expenditure for the City economy with further benefits outside Glasgow amounting to nearly £1.5 million. The accuracy of these estimates has benefited from the use of our impact model which allows us to take account of local economic factors and the nature of expenditure by fans, delegates and other visitors.
“We also believe the success of the UEFA Cup Final 2007 will mean Glasgow and Scotland continue to feel economic benefits over the next three years. Potentially the impact on Glasgow and Scotland could be even larger than those felt during the event with visitors forecasting significant numbers of repeat visits (55 per cent to Glasgow and 75 per cent to Scotland), most from core overseas markets. “
Stephen Baxter, Divisional Managing Director of BAA Scotland, which owns Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports said: "The UEFA Cup final was a tremendous showcase for Glasgow and Scotland, and our airports are proud to have played a part in this historic event.
“With more than 20,000 Spanish fans passing through Glasgow and Edinburgh airports, Scotland not only showed it can host world class sporting events, but that it can do so with style, warmth and efficiency. BAA Scotland looks forward to playing a similar supporting role if, and when, Glasgow hosts the 2014 Commonwealth Games."
Mark Rodwell, CEO - Glasgow Prestwick Airport, said: “We handled more than 5,000 football supporters for the UEFA Cup Final in May, most of whom were Espanyol supporters travelling on charter flights.
“However many fans of both teams made their own travel arrangements and flew with Ryanair.
“The supporters’ behaviour was fantastic and they brought a great colour and atmosphere to the airport.
“Our staff also put in a tremendous effort and many worked long and unsociable hours to ensure that the extra traffic did not affect our normal scheduled operations.
“This massive influx of people undoubtedly gave a tremendous boost to business and tourism in Ayrshire and Glasgow.
“We are confident those Spanish supporters who were new to Scotland will return as this country traditionally attracts a high volume of repeat visitors once people have seen what it has to offer.
“The UEFA Cup Final highlighted Scotland’s ability to host major sporting and cultural events such as the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and Glasgow Prestwick’s ability to play a major part in that.”
Dominic McVey, Co-Chair of Greater Glasgow Hotels Association, added: “It was fantastic to have such a high profile event in Glasgow and despite our hotels being so busy, the atmosphere was incredibly relaxed with everyone simply having a great time!
“There was a real sense of occasion in the city and the millions of fans watching the UEFA Cup final around the world on television would also have been in no doubt about exactly where the match was being held.”
Ian Fleming, Chair of Glasgow Restaurateurs Association, commented: “The UEFA Cup Final provided a fantastic boost for the city’s bars and restaurants.
“The buzz created by the supporters of Sevilla and Espanyol - not only in the designated fanzones but across the city – also made for an incredible atmosphere as evidenced by the obvious enjoyment of both sets of supporters.”