According to Temple University's Sports Industry Research Center, which analyzed the economic impact of US Road Sports' three largest races, the company generated more than $50 million in impact and created 549 jobs in Miami, Chicago and Atlanta in 2010.
The study focused on local and non-local participant spending at the US Road Sports-owned 2010 ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon, 2010 ING Georgia Marathon and Half Marathon (now the Publix Georgia Marathon and Half Marathon) and the 2010 Chicago Half Marathon and 5K.
“Impressively, participation in the running industry has steadily increased over the past decade, even in a down economy, and the cities that welcome running events are richly rewarded,” said Founding Partner and CEO of US Road Sports, Greg Laird. “We love producing world-class running events because they give every participant a goal and a reward for living a healthy and active lifestyle. We're happy that we've been able to give back to cities that support our races, our runners, and our sponsors in so many ways.”
More than 50,000 participants and countless spectators participated in the three signature running events. The top five industries affected by participant and spectator spending during race weekend were the hotel, food services, retail, local transportation and tourist attraction industries.
US Road Sports' 2010 economic impact did not stop with Miami, Chicago and Atlanta. The company also produces the popular 13.1 Marathon Series, bringing runners to nine different cities across the U.S. including Boston, Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, New York, Dallas, Minneapolis, Miami, Chicago and Atlanta. The economic impact of these races in their respective cities was not studied, but due to the quantity of the events and total number of participants, the 13.1 Marathon Series also contributed an estimated millions of dollars in positive economic impact
to these cities as well.
