World Games officials say crowd size is a good indicator of potential economic impact from the games

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - With World Games events spread out through 15 different venues across the area, officials are expecting it to bring in millions of dollars to Alabama.

Before the games started, officials were predicting around a $256 million economic impact in Alabama. City of Birmingham officials said it’s too early to tell exactly how numbers are tracking right now, but that crowd sizes they are seeing make them hopeful.

That $256 million is expected to come from money spent on the games, vendors, concessions, hotels and restaurants. World Games officials said they have sold out seats at sumo, parkour and breaking competitions. They also sold 30,000 tickets at opening ceremonies.

Officials with the City of Birmingham said they are planning to do a post event analysis at the end of the games to determine the overall economic impact.

“We are monitoring this on every aspect of these games,” City of Birmingham’s Rick Journey said. “Our partners with the World Games, the City of Birmingham, Jefferson County, Hoover, Pelham, everybody who is involved in the World Games is looking at the performance on a regular basis. We will determine what the next steps are, we evaluate, and we will continue to do that. We encourage everyone to just have a good time at the World Games.”

World Games officials tell WBRC they will be hosting a press conference on July 14 to share more details about the economic impact they are seeing so far.

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