ATLANTA — Saturday’s SEC Championship game is just the first of several major sporting events that Atlanta gets to host over the next few years.
Atlanta will also be home to the College Football Playoff Championship in January, the 2025 MLB All Star Game in July, the 2026 Fifa World Cup and the 2028 Super Bowl just to name a few.
In 2023, travelers spent $43 million on hotels, restaurants and transportation.
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Channel 2′s Jorge Estevez spoke with Emory University finance professor Tom Smith about how much that will impact Atlanta.
Smith says that he thinks Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and Governor Brian Kemp have worked together well to make Atlanta a business-friendly city.
“We have made some infrastructure improvements...has become incredibly pedestrian-friendly,” he said. “So I think the city has made sure that they are ready to host these events.”
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But he says the SEC Championship match-up between the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs and No. 2 Texas might not bring in all that much money because one of the teams is local.
“You’re talking about money in the community already being spent in the community. But in the future, I mean, we’re going to have the Super Bowl,” Smith explained. “So in the future, we’re going to have a lot more events and those have a much larger potential impact on our local economy.”
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