Baltimore Ravens games and other events at M&T Bank Stadium injected more than $216 million into the state?s economy in 2006, with average Ravens ticket prices reaching nearly $80, according to two reports released by the Maryland Stadium Authority.
The stadium supported 3,088 jobs, accounting for about $100 million of Maryland?s personal income that year, according to a study of the stadium released Wednesday. It generated nearly $13 million in state and local tax revenue.
Another complementary study released Thursday looked at the Ravens organization, according to Anirban Basu, chairman and chief executive officer of Sage Policy Group Inc., which conducted both studies.
“There has emerged a growing consensus among economists that individual stadium deals are not good deals, that teams get too much and communities get too little,” Basu said. “Looking at the move of the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore, it?s pretty clear that this is how economic development ought to work.”
The stadium hosted 16 events in 2006, including 11 Ravens games and the game between Navy and Notre Dame, each averaging about 65,000 fans per game.
The average Ravens ticket price rose to $79.48, up about 39 percent from the 1998 season, when tickets averaged $57, according to the study.
Meanwhile, the Ravens organization reported $121.1 million in player compensation for last year, according to the study of the team, which estimates that about 10 percent of players own homes and reside in Maryland during the offseason. Compensation for coaches, cheerleaders, mascots and others totaled $23.6 million, and the team donated more than $700,000 through various organizations.
In all, that study calculates that the Ravens directly and indirectly support nearly 400 jobs statewide, paying roughly $300 million in wages and $69 million in business sales in 2006.
Stadium events generated nearly $10 million in tax revenue for Maryland, including $3.5 million in admissions taxes and $3 million for local government.
The Ravens? playoff appearance last year provided an additional shot in the arm, according to Alison Asti, Stadium Authority executive director. That single game provided about $500,000 in revenue to the state, she said.
“It?s a big increase” over regular-season games, she said. “The playoff game was a huge economic boost for the city and state.”
