March Madness

Nothing But Net: The Local Economic Gains from March Madness in Portland

Portland hosted the first- and second-round NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament games (March 19–21, 2026) at the Moda Center, drawing an estimated 25,000 out-of-town visitors to the city. CSI estimates total direct visitor spending of approximately $21.9 million over the event weekend, distributed across lodging, dining, transportation, retail, and entertainment. Using the REMI model for Oregon, this spending shock translates into an estimated $31.8 million boost in local GDP (value added) and approximately $17.3 million in personal income. 

These are ballpark estimates and assume typical visitor behavior for a multi-day sporting event. For context, Portland's travel industry totaled $5.5 billion in spending in 2024, and the March Madness surge represented a concentrated but modest impact relative to annual tourism activity. Some spending may have partially displaced existing local activity — for example, Oregon residents shifting leisure spending to coincide with the tournament — meaning the net new economic benefit will be somewhat smaller than the gross figures suggest. Nevertheless, an influx of this scale over a single weekend represented a meaningful boost for downtown hotels, restaurants, and retailers, as well as broader marketing exposure for the city.

Major sporting events in Portland occur within a broader infrastructure context that has evolved considerably. A prolonged hotel development drought — during which no new hotels were built in Portland between 2009 and 2016 even as visitor demand surged — has since been addressed by a sustained construction boom that substantially expanded the city's lodging capacity. Attention has now shifted to the Moda Center itself, which remains the oldest NBA arena in the country that has not undergone a major renovation. During the 2026 short legislative session, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 1501, authorizing the state to issue $365 million in bonds toward a broader $600 million renovation effort, with the City of Portland and Multnomah County committing an additional $200+ million. Renovations are targeted for completion by 2030, positioning Portland to host the NCAA Women's Final Four — an event organizers describe as the largest sporting event the city has ever hosted. Recent Women's Final Four host cities have reported between $22 million and $33 million in direct visitor spending, suggesting the 2030 event could generate economic impacts comparable to or exceeding those of the current Men's Tournament visit — driven by a concentrated group of destination travelers attending a higher-profile, multi-day championship. These investments directly strengthen Portland's competitiveness for recurring events of this scale, as NCAA hosting requirements increasingly emphasize venue quality and capacity.

The evolution of sports betting in Oregon also shapes how event-related spending is distributed. While legal wagering is available statewide through the Oregon Lottery's exclusive partnership with DraftKings Sportsbook, betting on college sports — including March Madness games — is prohibited on that platform. Tribal casinos may offer college sports wagering, but only to patrons physically present on reservation lands. As a result, some betting activity during the tournament may migrate to out-of-state platforms or offshore sportsbooks, representing a form of economic leakage that reduces the share of event-related spending retained within Oregon's local economy.

Visitor count: The Portland Mayor’s Office and Travel Portland estimated approximately 25,000 total attendees associated with the games. This figure likely exceeds single-session ticketed attendance, as it includes visitors staying multiple days and participating in related events.

Length of stay: Visitors were expected to stay 2–3 nights, typically arriving prior to Thursday’s games and departing after Saturday. Many attendees will participate in both game days; we assume an average stay of approximately 2 nights.

Daily spending: Based on Portland-area benchmarks, typical visitor spending was estimated at $133 to $258 per day on lodging (we assume $197 per night) and approximately $185 per day on food, entertainment, and local transportation. Given the premium nature of sports tourism, particularly during the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, per-visitor spending was likely elevated. We therefore assumed total 

Combining these assumptions yields an estimated total visitor spending impact of roughly $22 million over the event period.

Sectoral Spending Allocation

We allocated the total $21.9 million in direct visitor spending across sectors based on both the event profile and Portland-specific patterns:

• Lodging (Hotels/Motels): 
  NCAA teams, staff, and fans book many rooms. (Travel Portland notes NCAA teams alone have blocked 5,000 room-nights) We estimate lodging is the largest share, roughly 53.1% of total spending. 
• Food & Beverage: 
  Includes restaurants, bars and catering. Fans dining out before/after games contribute heavily. We assume roughly 18.8% of the tournament spending goes here.
• Transportation: 
  Taxi, rideshare, transit, parking and some local travel. Large events boost transit use (and sometimes rental cars). We allocate 7.1% to ground transport.
• Retail (Shops, Merchandise): 
  Souvenirs, team gear, general retail. We estimate 14.7% in retail purchases.
• Recreation/Entertainment: 
  Additional leisure spending (tourism, local attractions). We allocate 6.3% here.

Figure 1 below illustrates this spending breakdown (dollars in millions):

Figure 1: Estimated attendee spending in Portland during March Madness (first/second rounds), by category (in $ millions).

Using the REMI Tax-PI for Oregon, we model the above visitor spending as a consumer spending shock, following common practice for event impact studies:

Consumer Spending Shock: We model the $21.1 million as an increase in household spending/consumption. This assumes visitors act like households purchasing goods/services (e.g. paying for hotels, food, retail).

Modeled Economic Impacts

The REMI results (including direct, indirect, and induced effects) are summarized below as deviations from baseline, reflecting a consumer spending shock associated with tournament-related visitor activity.

Figure 2: Estimated economic impact of March Madness in Oregon. 

The estimated $21.9 million in direct visitor spending generates substantial spillover effects across the regional economy. The gap between total output ($53.3M) and value added ($31.8M) reflects supply chain activity and intermediate inputs — spending that circulates through the regional economy before accruing as income or profit. The model also estimates support for approximately 317 jobs and $17.3 million in personal income, reflecting increased wages and earnings across affected industries.

Because the analysis is structured as a consumer spending shock, the multiplier is moderated by standard leakages — imports, taxes, and savings — which reduce the share of direct spending retained within the regional economy as value added. These results are nonetheless broadly consistent with comparable event-based economic impact studies, in which short-term visitor influxes produce meaningful but temporary increases in regional output, income, and employment.

The model indicates modest follow-on effects in 2027–2028 as the regional economy adjusts, but these are small relative to the initial event-driven surge and should not be interpreted as persistent structural change.