Super Bowl impact: Did you get your half-billion dollars?

Pundits (the self-interested kind) are claiming that the positive economic impact on the Valley from the Super Bowl was over half a billion dollars. Baloney! Did you see any more money in your pocket? Did you get a pay raise? No. The people who benefited from the Super Bowl were a very small number of businesses who catered to Super Bowl travelers AND…of course….various governments, who benefit from the sales taxes. It is much more likely that the effect on the average Valley resident was negative. You probably were inconvenienced by the Super Bowl traffic on the freeways or local streets. Or, you probably paid more for travel because of Super Bowl traffic driving prices up. Or, if you had friend visiting you from out of town you probably could not find accommodations for them at anything close to normal prices. Or, if you tried to go out to a dinning or social event you probably could not get in.
The next time someone wants to promote a big event like the Super Bowl and promises a big economic impact I suggest that the majority of Valley residents should remember where all that “impact” money goes.