CLEVELAND — Several months after the final buzzer ended the 2024 NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four in Cleveland, we now have an idea of how much money was generated for the region.
According to the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, the Final Four from April 4-7 "provided Northeast Ohio with $32.9 million in direct spend." The numbers were calculated by the Destinations International Event Impact Calendar.
"Hosting the Women’s Final Four was a proud moment for the city of Cleveland. Our city has earned a reputation for being one of the top cities in America for hosting events, and it took us a long time to get there. We’ve hosted a lot of great events, including a Women’s Final Four back in 2007, but this one was special” said David Gilbert, President and CEO of Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and Destination Cleveland, in a statement. “We are incredibly lucky to have been selected to host this event during the rise in women’s basketball. The influx of visitors significantly boosted our local economy during this historic weekend.”
The rise in women's basketball, spurred on by Iowa record-setting guard Caitlin Clark, was evident in the attendance at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse as nearly 37,000 people attended the two sold out sessions. Commission officials also noted that 2024 was the first year that the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship game (18.9 million) had more viewers than the NCAA Men's Championship Game (14.8 million) in the Nielsen ratings.
The Greater Cleveland Sports Commission also pointed to several other statistics that indicated success in hosting the Final Four:
- Downtown Cleveland hotels had the best April on record.
- 11,291 fans packed Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse for Super Saturday Practice; doubling the previous attendance record.
- 20,624 fans visited Tourney Town, the free festival at the Huntington Convention Center.
- 2,500 youth signed up for Bounce, a unique parade from Public Square to Tourney Town.
- Connecting Cleveland, a brand-new community event, welcomed more than 150 college age attendees from 61 college/universities (19 different states), and 40 C-Suite mentors for a full day of keynote speakers, panels and networking. The Cleveland local organizing committee was the first to bring this opportunity to the NCAA, and it was so well received that it is now scheduled to be an official program of future Women’s Final Fours.