World Cup Economics in Southern California

[00:00:00]As California soccer lovers of all ages cheer on the teams they love, fan spending is expected to kick it out of the park.

[00:00:11]>> I think California is going to benefit because a lot of the games are going to be going on in Los Angeles. And so that means tourists coming in. Tourism a big part of the California economy we've been hurt by things like rising gas prices.

[00:00:27]>> That's Alan Gin, a professor of economics at University of San Diego.

[00:00:32]>> [screaming] >> While people will be spending money at watch parties across San Diego, Professor Gin tells me he doesn't expect this to have a major impact on the economy of San Diego County.

[00:00:44]>> People go and watch the games at a bar or pub or something along those lines.

[00:00:49]That means that they're probably not going to spend money then going out for Chinese food or or or other types of of of food then.

[00:00:58]And so so it's not a net not a big net gain for the for the region.

[00:01:03]>> However, he says certain parts of San Diego may see a boom in foot traffic.

[00:01:08]Neighborhoods like North Park or Little Italy. Professor Gin says the biggest boost to our economy will be the spillover of tourism from LA and the teams training in the region.

[00:01:19]>> There are two teams that are that are training here in San Diego and that's going to be the biggest impact as far as the local economy is concerned. So they're coming in, they're they are running out hotel rooms, they're spending money in the local economy. I think each team is allocated something like almost two million dollars in terms of their expenditures in terms of their training. And so that pumps new money into the local economy.

[00:01:44]>> [cheering]