Peach Bowl, Inc. events continue to be an economic boost and positive impact on the Atlanta community and the college football industry after a successful 2021 saw three games return impressive numbers for attendance, TV viewership, economic impact, charitable donations and team payouts.

The 2021 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games over Labor Day weekend featured No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 14 Miami and Louisville vs. No. 25 Ole Miss, which were followed by a top-12 showdown in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 30 between ACC Champion No. 12 Pitt and No. 10 Michigan State from the Big Ten.

“We called this our ‘Comeback Season’ with the return of full stadiums and fan activities following an unprecedented 2020 due to COVID,” said Gary Stokan, Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO and president. “We are beyond grateful to have been able to give back to the Atlanta community, the tourism industry and college football continuing our mission to be college football’s most charitable bowl organization.”

The three games Peach Bowl, Inc. hosted in 2021 combined to draw 143,768 fans to Mercedes-Benz Stadium and 16.6 million viewers, while also generating $82.2 million in economic impact and $6.5 million in direct tax revenue for the state of Georgia.

“We were fortunate to host some of the nation’s best teams in Atlanta last year, including five ranked teams at the time of the games,” said Bob Somers, Peach Bowl, Inc. Chairman. “The momentum we built in 2021 should carry over into next season when we host two marquee Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games in September between Oregon vs. Georgia and Clemson vs. Georgia Tech, which will then be followed by the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on New Year’s Eve.” 

ECONOMIC IMPACT:

Last season’s Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl combined to deliver $82.2 million in economic impact for the state of Georgia and $6.5 million in direct tax revenue. This marked the fifth-highest economic impact total for Peach Bowl, Inc. events in a single season since organizers began tracking the impact of the games in 1999. It also represented the third-highest cumulative economic impact over a Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game weekend, trailing only the 2012 and 2017 seasons.

2021 Season and Cumulative Impact by the Numbers:

The sustainable nature of these games and their value to Atlanta is realized in the cumulative numbers that have been tracked since 1999. Over that time, college football games hosted by Peach Bowl, Inc. alone have now delivered $1.299 billion in total economic impact and $79.34 million in combined direct state and local tax revenue generated within the metro area.

The economic impact study was conducted by Dr. Bruce A. Seaman, associate professor of economics at Georgia State University and one of the preeminent experts on economic impact in the country. The study took into account information about how long visitors stayed and how much money they spent while they were here.  Tax revenues reported include those from local option sales, state sales taxes collected locally, hotel-motel taxes and transportation taxes (including non-federal airport fees) within the metro area. 

Adjustments were made to account for displaced spending that would have occurred without the games, for the proportion of visitor spending actually captured by regional vendors and for motivations for visiting the region not directly associated with the games.

CHARITABLE GIVING:

Peach Bowl, Inc. contributed more than $5.15 million for charitable donations and causes in 2021. Selected highlights of last year’s donations included:

• $4.2 M              Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta: Peach Bowl LegACy Fund/Touchdowns for Children’s

• $330,000          Peach Bowl Challenge Charity Golf Tournament (participating coach’s charities)

• $200,000          Endowed Scholarship Program

• $150,000          Atlanta Public Schools: Academic Mentoring Program

• $100,000          American Red Cross: Midwest tornado relief

• $50,000             Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation

These donations bring Peach Bowl, Inc.’s total charitable contributions to $58.8 million since 2002, making it the most charitable bowl organization.

TEAM PAYOUTS:

Pitt and Michigan State received $6 million each – for a total of $12 million – in team payouts for playing in last year’s Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. A total of $17.75 million in team payouts were also distributed to the four teams participating in last season’s Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games (Alabama, Louisville, Miami and Ole Miss).

Peach Bowl, Inc. has now disbursed $322.3 million in total team payouts over its 54-year history for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl ($221.1 million) and Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games ($101.2 million). 

ATTENDANCE:

Combined, 143,768 fans attended the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Mercedes-Benz Stadium last season. A total of 3.15 million fans have now attended the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in its 54-year history, while 1.14 million fans have gone to Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games since their creation in 2008. 

VIEWERSHIP:

A total of 16.6 million viewers tuned in to watch the two Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games (9 million) on Labor Day weekend and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (7.6 million) on Dec. 30. This represented the fourth-highest combined viewership for Peach Bowl, Inc. events in a single season, trailing only the two CFP Semifinal seasons (2016, 2019), as well as 2017.

With 7.6 million viewers, the 2021 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl’s ratings were up more than 25 percent from the past two standalone, primetime New Year’s Six games played on weekdays (31 percent – 2020 Cotton Bowl; 26 percent – 2019 Orange Bowl).