UEFA European Championship Bill: BRIA

Overall economic benefits of hosting the event

Hosting the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship is predicted to have a positive impact economically and reputationally due to an increase in visitor numbers to the host city and wider Scotland. Over 200,000 people are expected to visit Glasgow during the Championship. These impacts are considered to outweigh the short term impact on businesses in a limited geographical area, Glasgow City Council and Police Scotland of the preferred option (option 3).

Major events normally bring a benefit to the economy of the local areas and potentially more broadly. For example we know that preparation for, and delivery of, the 2014 Commonwealth Games supported a substantial amount of economic activity. Overall the Games are estimated to have contributed, in gross terms, approximately £740 million to Scotland's Gross Value Added (GVA), and approximately £390 million to Glasgow's GVA specifically, over the period 2007-2014. An estimated average of 2,100 jobs per year nationally, and 1,200 jobs per year in Glasgow specifically, were supported over this time period, peaking in 2014.^[10]

Specifically for football, Glasgow City Council has indicated that the gross impact of the 2007 UEFA Cup Final at Hampden was expenditure of over £16.3 million, with expenditure by finalist supporters accounting for £8.9 million of this, £2.3 million from neutral fans, and £2.3 million from delegates. Net impact was nearly £10 million of expenditure in Glasgow including indirect and induced impacts, with a further £1.5 million outside Glasgow.

Additionally, the UEFA Champions League has resulted in substantial economic gain for its hosts in recent years. Post event reports from previous finals indicate that when the final was held in London in 2011, the city earned an estimated £43 million; when Lisbon hosted in 2014, income was estimated at 45 million euros and the Football Association for Wales has confirmed that an economic impact evaluation of the Cardiff final has indicated an estimated £45 million in direct additional spending in and around Cardiff.^[11]

These examples give us some indication of the scale of the economic impact for Glasgow of hosting four matches as part of the Championship. The expected impact of the Championship will also be affected by the teams that are drawn to play matches at Hampden. The initial draw has taken place and it is now confirmed that Croatia and the Czech Republic will play matches at Hampden Park. However, the final make-up of the teams will not be known until later in 2020, once the Nations League play-offs have taken place.