ATLANTA — Did the metro area really earn $292 million from hosting a Super Bowl?
The number has been thrown around as a selling point since the last Super Bowl in Atlanta in 2000.
PolitiFact Georgia, in partnership with WSB-TV, wanted to find out how much truth there was to the claim.
Channel 2 Action News reporter Lori Geary looked into the numbers along with editors from the Atlanta Journal Constitution. PolitiFact Georgia later issued a truth-o-meter ruling.
"The 292 going back to 2000 is a very important number. It could have a big impact on whether we could get another stadium here," said Jim Tharpe of the AJC.
But the $292 million was a projected number and the actual revenue was closer to half of that, the investigation found.
"There's a give and take in this. It's very complicated and the number's somewhat controversial and has actually been winnowed down since the years past," said Tharpe.
The city was hit by an ice storm that year, likely deterring thousands of fans. The volume of people alone might have stopped others from coming anywhere near downtown.
"The Monday morning quarterbacking has come back on this and said the impact on Atlanta might have been as little as $150 million," said Tharpe.
The NFL commissioner on a recent visit to Atlanta said the only way to another bid is a new stadium. Many complain that the Georgia Dome is simply outdated, and tout another Super Bowl as the play to an economic touchdown.
The AJC editors said they don't believe the hype.
"So if you really want to talk about what the ATL 2000 Super Bowl brought into the local area and you wanted to be accurate you would be saying it's about $150 million based on revised figures that would have an impact probably on what the next Super Bowl might bring," said Tharpe.
Therefore, PolitiFact Georgia said the claim is false. The 2000 Super Bowl did not bring in $292 million. The editors said it's time that number stopped being used.
WSBTV
