The Local Economic Impact Of A Packers Game? $9.1 Million.

The Green Bay Packers’ season opener is out of town, but when the team returns to Lambeau Field next weekend the local economy stands to benefit.

That’s especially true now that 7,000 more fans will be in the bleachers. The Greater Green Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates each home game has an $8.2 million impact. Brad Toll, the bureau’s president and CEO, says the expansion is going to pump that figure up to over $9.1 million.

The new seats are for season ticket holders, who Toll says are more likely to have favorite restaurants, bars, or other attractions they visit while in Green Bay. He says not all of those places are close to the stadium.

“Green Bay is pretty compact compared to any other NFL city,” he says. “So people can get stirred throughout the entire community. It’s not just one area that benefits.”

Toll says it’s not just sports or game-related spending, either: “We see it at gas stations and the local drug stores where people are buying water and what not.”

It helps that the Green Bay area’s largest mall is down the road from Lambeau Field. A large, national sporting goods store also recently opened nearby.