Atlanta is on a winning streak with major sporting events — the World Cup next summer, the Super Bowl in 2028 and the Final Four in 2031. But these events come with a price tag that will likely test the limits of how much taxpayer money state lawmakers are willing to put toward them.
In 2016, legislators voted to exempt major sporting event tickets from the state sales tax, then extended it again through 2031. Last year, lawmakers ponied up nearly $25 million to help cover expenses related to the College Football Playoff national championship earlier this year and the World Cup next summer.
But this year, lawmakers rejected a similar request for $7 million associated with the Super Bowl and the Final Four. They also nixed $833,000 to help relocate the Olympic cauldron that burned for the duration of the 1996 Summer Games.
Neither request made it into the amended 2025 budget Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed last week. Lawmakers indicated they weren’t closing the door on the spending. They just wanted to take a break.
“One year at $7 million is $490,000 in interest,” said state Sen. Blake Tillery, a Republican from Vidalia and chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “Why would we let that interest sit with another entity when we could use it at the state to continue to roll back the income tax?”
Supporters say there is little time to waste. The Super Bowl and the Final Four are coordinated by the Atlanta Sports Council, a privately funded arm of the Metro Atlanta Chamber.
President Dan Corso was in New Orleans last month to observe that city’s Super Bowl hosting, noting that the NFL likes host cities to begin preparations years in advance. “You’re officially on the clock two to three years out,” he said.
Atlanta has always been a top target for big events, given its abundance of stadiums and hotels that can withstand the throngs of tourists and the accompanying scrutiny from major media outlets. The city has hosted a Summer Olympics, three Super Bowls and four men’s NCAA Final Fours.
But with success comes envy, and Georgia is facing stepped-up competition from the likes of Florida, North Carolina and Texas. Texas has its own fund dedicated solely to wooing major events. And North Carolina recently decided to set aside a portion of its newly approved sports betting revenue to attract large spectator sports.
Georgia doesn’t allow sports betting. And the state Constitution makes it difficult to create a Texas-style fund dedicated to these events. That means events looking for help covering expenses have to ask the Legislature.
Corso said public funding is a big advantage when trying to recruit major events, whose organizers often press for details on the kind of local support available. The money helps pay for things like transportation, planning, traffic management, signage and security — an increasing concern given the New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans happened on the day the University of Georgia football team was set to play in a playoff game.
“It’s an incredible opportunity to showcase your city and your state,” said Marshall Guest, senior vice president with the Metro Atlanta Chamber. “Those opportunities don’t come along every day and that’s something that we collectively want to seize upon when they do.”
Some economists scoff at the benefits. Kennesaw State University economics professor J.C. Bradbury said economists have studied the impact of these events for decades and found they tend to displace existing activity instead of creating new spending. “Perhaps there are some limited benefits, but they tend to be small, and far less than the public funding provided to support them,” he said.
Still, the chamber is not giving up on getting public funding this year. House lawmakers added the $7 million for the Super Bowl and Final Four back into the 2026 budget, which must be approved before lawmakers adjourn for the year on April 4. The request got a warm reception during a Senate committee hearing last week, with state Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, saying he fully supports it.
The biggest hint, however, came from the governor. “We have helped with funding in the past and I feel certain we’ll do our part from a state perspective,” Kemp said.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct a misspelling of Metro Atlanta Chamber Senior Vice President Marshall Guest’s name.
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