Final Four brings $270 million impact: Houston Media.

Houston event organizers are estimating a $270-million economic impact for the city after the end of 2023’s College Basketball Final Four in early April.

Kent Friedman is the Board Chairman of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority. He said it will take some time before official numbers release.

“I think that [$270 million] will go up some when final numbers are calculated. I think that is a conservative number for now,” Friedman said.

The number is based on various factors, including money spent at hotels, restaurants, and bars by visitors from out of town and from Houston. In comparison, the 2016 Final Four in Houston had a $250 million economic impact.

Friedman said the number takes the Fan Fest and Music Fest into consideration as well.

“[There are] tens of thousands of fans that come in from all over the country who have no intention of going to the basketball games but are here for the atmosphere,” he said.

The tournament also made headlines last week when Connecticut’s Governor, Ned Lamont, called downtown Houston “butt ugly”.

“My guess is he celebrated a little too long and a little too hard after the Connecticut win,” Friedman said. “That’s the only possible explanation for a Governor saying something like that. I hope he’s sobered up now and realizes that probably was a mistake.”

Since last week, Governor Ned Lamont has apologized for the comments.

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A couple of moments ago, I spoke with Connecticut’s @GovNedLamont and we both had a good conversation. The Governor apologized for the remarks he made about #Houston following the #FinalFour. I accepted his apology and again congratulated his @UConnMBB team on their victory.
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— Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) April 6, 2023

Houston will host college football’s national championship game in 2024.