Economic Impact on Nashville hard to Quantify

The exact amount of the financial impact of the cancellation of the final four days of the Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament may never be fully known.

The last 36 hours have been a whirlwind in the world of sports with the cancellations of the NBA, NHL, MLS, along with the stoppages of college basketball tournaments and other related activities and events on the NCAA level.  

It is an unprecedented time in our nations, and sports history and one that with luck we will never witness again in our lifetime. 

For the city of Nashville, this comes on the heels of a devastating and deadly tornado that ravaged the city and Middle Tennessee just over one week ago. It also brings economic ramifications that might not ever be truly verifiable in terms of a dollar amount. 

Immediately after the Southeastern Conference announced the cancellation of the remaining four days of their men's basketball tournament at Bridgestone Arena here in Nashville, most people were consumed by the mounting issued cause by the COVID-19 virus that prompted the interruption of so many events, and while that is of great concern to myself and most everyone else being touched in one way or another, the impact on Nashville might be more long-lasting that this pandemic.  

Scott Ramsey, President, and CEO of the Nashville Sports Council who is directly tied into the Southeastern Conference as the host sponsors of the basketball tournament was present Thursday morning underneath the arena as the gathered media awaited SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey's arrival for a press conference. 

I spoke with Ramsey and asked if there were any way to quantify just how much of a negative impact the cancellation of the remainder of the weekend's games could potentially cost the Nashville economy. 

According to Ramsey, that number might never be fully known.

Because of cancellation policies of hotels where visitors were scheduled to stay and because of the unknowns of how many people might have already arrived and decide to stay for the duration of their scheduled visit, there are many variables to determining a dollar figure.

Ramsey shared that the average economic impact produced by the previous SEC Basketball Tournaments held here were between $17 and $18 million dollars per year the city has hosted this event. 

Of that total from previous years, Ramsey estimated that the cancellation this year would cost the city economic coffers in the range of 75% of that average from previous years.

Of course, these are just rough guess estimates and there is no way to know with absolute certainty that the figure this year might have been higher or lower than the previous averages.  

Regardless of the potential final number, this cancellation, done in the best interests of the conference, it's players, coaches, fans and even media will impact Nashville tremendously. 

Add in the impact from the tornado and the month of March 2020 has been one to forget for Nashville. 

The city will recover, but the lost revenue and the potential for more losses as the fear of and potential spread of this virus continues could cost many small businesses their livelihoods in the coming days, weeks, and months until this crisis ends. 

Here's to hoping that someone, somewhere finds a cure or things run their course sooner rather than later because our friends and neighbors are in more jeopardy than from just a virus that they might never actually contract.