Dana White predicts a $40 million economic impact for Toronto as a result of UFC 129. White also stated in a conference call Tuesday that UFC 129 could bring $1.5 million in revenue to the city from ticket taxes alone. In addition, the UFC has sold $11 million in tickets for the event
Via Rogers Sportsnet:
Tom Wright, the UFC’s director of Canadian operations, said the Ontario Athletic Commission will also benefit to the tune of five per cent of the gross ticket sales. That’s $550,000, working on the gate figure of $11 million.
Via MMA Junkie:
The demand was shocking even to White, who had seen the promotion do big business in all five of its trips to Canada. White added that UFC 129 also broke a box office record previously held by the NFL in the Rogers Centre. The arena previously has hosted events with up to 69,000 spectators. However, given the UFC’s event-night layout, large video screens, and the UFC president’s commitment to maintain as much as the “intimate atmosphere” of a live UFC-show experience, officials initially expected 50,000 to be the absolute maximum capacity for UFC 129.
Payout Perspective:
Outstanding numbers for the UFC and further evidence that the UFC’s popularity can affect the economy of the cities where it holds its events. For the skeptics, the $40 million figure does seem huge, but if you factor in the money generated from the Fan Expo the same weekend, the number could be possible. The numbers also supports the premise of the NY economic study provided by the UFC several weeks ago in that MMA can stimulate the local economy. More fuel for the argument that NY should legalize MMA.
Good point about the $40 million number Diego. A lot of people will scoff at that, but those same people are likely to scoff at any number in the ballpark of $30-40 million, without reviewing the studies themselves. Also, as with the economic impact study, you are getting a researched estimate, not “This WILL bring $40 million in economic impact.” If you had 12 different firms make 12 different studies, you would most likely get 12 different numbers (and if you ask Bob Arum all of MMA’s financial figures are fictional anyway *:)*). The bottom line is that it is A LOT of money.
The question is, will having this story in the media have any influence over politicians in places where MMA is still unsanctioned/illegal? We’ve seen the economic impact argument fall on def ears before…
A lot of tickets have been bought by scalpers
Let’s wait and see, how many tickets real fans will actually buy. We might be looking at a lot of empty seats,
+ 40 Million $ means, that every vistor will leave about 800 $ there, which is highly unlikely, considering the fact, that a lot of people will come from the area or nearby and won’t even need a hotel room
“A lot of tickets have been bought by scalpers.”
Cool2010 you have stated this as fact, so what is your source of information?
Go to ebay.com and type UFC 129
Every UFC event has tons of tickets on Ebay. Even 10K seat events. Its fair to expect a lot more with an event with 4-5 times more seats available. There will always be scalpers. I wouldnt use such shady info to try and down play the success of this event. There will be at least 40K people in attendance. I dont think there is that many scalpers buying tickets to thsi event. There is to many seats avaible to think there is going to be a demand for your tickets to make a profit. Buying 20K of them and not selling them would put an end to these scalpers. There is just no need to “invest” in these tickets.
Wow, the 800 tickets on eBay combined with the 1,811 on Stubhub sure are a large portion of the 55,000 sold…
Although I guess “a lot” is a pretty ambiguous term, so touché.
There is plenty of time for scalpers to eventually lower their prices as well since we’re 2+months out from the event. I’m thinking the arena will be packed, but This is the first time they’ve done such a large venue so who knows, but given past Canadian demand for MMA and especially the UFC, it’s more likely to be full than have a large amount of seats empty.
Scalpers play a big role in the purchase of tickets in major centers in Canada. UFC Vancouver was a bit of a bust – remember this “VANCOUVER — Ticket prices for Saturday’s UFC 115 event in Vancouver appear to be dropping quickly, following speculation that scalpers had scooped up most pre-sale tickets and oversaturated the resale market”
Toronto is a bigger market for scalpers. But I think the difference is that Toronto fans have the cash to dish out and are more used to buying tickets from scalpers. I’d say that we could be looking at anywhere from 15 to 20 thousand tickets in the hands of scalpers for UFC Toronto. As we get closer to showtime we will have to see how ticket prices in the aftermarket end up to get a real sense of how hot this event will be and how much inventory is still left out there.