If you spent New Year’s Day watching college football, you were taking part in a tradition that began with the first Rose Bowl, held more than a century ago. It was held to boost tourism to Pasadena, Calif., and soon other cities copied the idea.
Today, college football is a multi-billion dollar business and fans can watch as many as 40 bowl games without leaving home. The public radio program Marketplace recently looked into the business of college bowl games, and asked Robert Baumann, professor of economics, if the games have the same local impact they once did.
“This does not support the local economy," Baumann told Marketplace. "And that picture is somewhat getting worse as the attention gets focused to national TV audiences as opposed to attendance in the seats.”
Read or listen to the rest of the piece at Marketplace.org.
College Football’s Bowl Games Don’t Have Impact They Once Did, Holy Cross Economics Professor Says
Marketplace
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1 Minute
