STUDY ALSO SHOWED VISITING FANS TOOK HOME OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE IMPRESSIONS OF ST. LOUIS
ST. LOUIS – September 24, 2025 – When the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four skated into St. Louis this spring, the region scored on every level. More than 80% of fans came from out of town, spending hundreds of dollars per day and taking home a new impression of St. Louis as fun, clean, beautiful, and safe. The result is more than $20 million in economic impact and priceless momentum for future marquee events.
SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC IMPACT
The 2025 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four generated $20.5 million in total economic activity across the St. Louis region, injecting $600,496 in sales tax revenue for the City of St. Louis. The economic impact report found another $593,942 in sales tax revenue was generated for the state of Missouri and over $68,000 in sales tax revenue for St. Louis County. The figures are among the highlights from a wide-reaching study measuring the impact of college hockey’s national championship, which took place at Enterprise Center in Downtown St. Louis in April. The study was conducted by Sportsimpacts, headed by Dr. Patrick Rishe, who serves as Director of the Sports Business Program at Washington University in St. Louis.
The research combined data collected from multiple sources used to calculate the spending of non-local fans, event participants, and non-local organizations like the NCAA, ESPN, and others in the production and execution of the event, providing a new stream of money into the St. Louis economy.
Visitor delivery was significant, with more than 80% of all fans attending the Frozen Four coming from outside the St. Louis region. They generated 20,813 room nights and $287,000 in hotel tax revenue. Aside from lodging costs, the study discovered an estimated daily spend of nearly $300 for each visiting fan, including everything from concessions and merchandise at Enterprise Center, to restaurants, retail, entertainment, and local transportation across St. Louis while in town for the Frozen Four. The daily spend of $300 per visitor is on top of hotel and event ticket costs.
“Dr. Rishe’s study once again affirms how meaningful high-profile sporting events are to our region,” said St. Louis Sports Commission President Marc Schreiber. “In generating significant visitor spending and tax revenue, bringing activity and vibrancy to Downtown, and providing just an all-around fun, memorable weekend for local residents and out-of-towners, the Frozen Four delivered. In recent years, we’ve talked a lot about our competitive challenges and the need for greater public sector support for bids so we can continue to attract events that bring financial benefit to our community. The Frozen Four’s impact demonstrates the tremendous return on investment.”
EXCEEDING VISITOR EXPECTATIONS
In addition to the spending information gathered from fans surveyed at the Frozen Four, a series of visitor experience questions were asked to gauge feedback on St. Louis and Enterprise Center. More than 700 fans participated in the survey. Of the fans not from St. Louis, 45% were visiting the city for the first time. Their impressions of St. Louis were noteworthy.
For those making their first trip to the Gateway City, 74% indicated St. Louis exceeded their expectations as a host city. First-time visitors were asked to provide one word to describe their impression of St. Louis before they visited, which brought a mixed bag of positive and negative perceptions. Four of the 16 most cited words for pre-visit impressions had a negative connotation (i.e. dirty, dangerous, boring, unsafe). These first-time visitors were then asked to provide a word to describe their post-visit impressions of St. Louis, and in this case only one of the top 16 words cited had a negative connotation – and several of the words provided were opposite of the negative phrases from the pre-visit impressions (i.e. fun, clean, beautiful, friendly, exciting, safe). The actual responses for both the pre-visit and post-visit impressions are shown below.
| One-word Impressions of St. Louis (ranked in order of response frequency) | |
| Pre-visit Impressions | Post-visit Impressions |
| 1. Arch | 1. Fun |
| 2. Dirty | 2. Clean |
| 3. Excited | 3. Great |
| 4. Busy | 4. Nice |
| 5. Fun | 5. Beautiful |
| 6. Big | 6. Food |
| 7. Interesting | 7. Cool |
| 8. Dangerous | 8. Friendly |
| 9. Boring | 9. Historic |
| 10. Beer | 10. Exciting |
| 11. Historic | 11. Hockey |
| 12. BBQ | 12. Architecture |
| 13. Nice | 13. Dirty |
| 14. Unsafe | 14. Safe |
| 15. Historical | 15. Pretty |
| 16. Cold | 16. Warm |
The survey also asked out-of-town fans which St. Louis attractions they visited while they were in town for the Frozen Four. The top five responses were the Gateway Arch, Busch Stadium, Anheuser-Busch Brewery, food attractions (BBQ and The Hill), and the St. Louis Zoo.
The local organizing committee for the Frozen Four focused much attention on the downtown experience, with several key entities collaborating. In addition to the St. Louis Sports Commission and St. Louis Blues/Enterprise Center, the Downtown Experience Committee for the Frozen Four included representatives from City Hall, the mayor’s office, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Downtown CID, Greater St. Louis, Inc., Bi-State/Metro St. Louis, Union Station, Ballpark Village, National Blues Museum, and Explore St. Louis.
These are the kind of results we can achieve when we are intentional and collaborative across multiple agencies and stakeholders to create a memorable atmosphere both inside and outside of Enterprise Center that sends Frozen Four fans back home telling a story of their wonderful experience in St. Louis,” said Brad Dean, CEO of Explore St. Louis. “When we have an opportunity to influence those visitor impressions by making sure every place they touch – from the airport to hotels, restaurants, attractions, and everything in between – provides the best possible experience, that is how we begin to change perceptions and earn return visitors.”
SPOTLIGHT ON ENTERPRISE CENTER
Enterprise Center has undergone more than $150 million in upgrades since 2018, which was a key factor in the NCAA awarding the Men’s Frozen Four to St. Louis. Among fans who previously attended at least one Frozen Four, more than 64% indicated Enterprise Center provided a better experience than previous Frozen Fours they attended. Specifically, the features of Enterprise Center that rated most positively in their experience were concessions, friendly staff, good sight lines, and comfortable seats.
“It is incredibly gratifying to see such positive reviews of our building as a result of the hard work we continue to put forth as a team and community to create a first-class experience in every aspect of hosting an event at Enterprise Center,” said St. Louis Blues President & CEO Chris Zimmerman. “Receiving this validation from Frozen Four participants, the NCAA, ESPN, and hockey fans from all over the country gives us the fuel to keep evolving and striving to make St. Louis the best event destination anywhere.”
The NCAA Men’s Frozen Four was the first major NCAA championship St. Louis hosted after COVID-19 pandemic restrictions subsided – placing even more importance on the local organizing committee to put on a good show. A great run of events continues for St. Louis with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in January, the NCAA Men’s Basketball 1st/2nd Rounds returning to St. Louis in March, the BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club in August 2026, and the NCAA Wrestling Championships due to make its tenth appearance at Enterprise Center in Spring 2027.
The Sports Commission is also preparing to submit bids for several future collegiate championships as part of the NCAA’s next bid cycle, which covers events from Fall 2028 through Spring 2031. Bids will be due in Summer 2026. “The data collected tells a great story for St. Louis and we’ll be able to highlight the visitor feedback in our future bids to reinforce how well our region performs as a major sports event destination,” said Schreiber. “Importantly, I hope St. Louisans take this positive feedback to heart. Yes, we have our challenges. But we also have a city that people appreciate and see as a gem and think of as a great place to visit. We should all take great pride in that.
“The findings also underscore how valuable these events are beyond simply economic impact. They bring people to St. Louis who may not be familiar with our city or may have a certain image in mind. And then they have a fabulous experience that changes their perceptions and causes them to return home with an excellent story to tell. It shows the important role sports can play in shaping St. Louis’ narrative.”
MEDIA INFORMATION: Media with questions or interview inquiries should contact Tim Ryan at tryan@stlsports.org or (314) 406-5791. If inquiries are specific to Explore St. Louis, please contact Cat Neville at cneville@explorestlouis.com or (314) 992-0654. If inquiries are specific to the St. Louis Blues/Enterprise Center, please contact Roger Hacker at rhacker@stlblues.com or (314) 622-2529.
ABOUT EXPLORE ST. LOUIS
Explore St. Louis is the driving force behind the region’s $5.7 billion convention and tourism industry, serving as the official destination marketing organization of St. Louis City and County and operating the America’s Center Convention Complex and The Dome. Learn more at explorestlouis.com.
ABOUT SPORTSIMPACTS
Sportsimpacts, founded in 2000, has conducted over 100 economic impact studies, including 3 Super Bowls, 3 Final Fours, a Ryder Cup, a President’s Cup, numerous collegiate and youth sporting events, the 2024 and 2025 NFL Drafts, and numerous prior studies over the last 20 years for the St. Louis Sports Commission including NCAA Wrestling, U.S. Figure Skating, and other amateur and collegiate sporting events.
ABOUT THE ST. LOUIS BLUES
The St. Louis Blues have been a part of the NHL since 1967 and during more than 50 years of operation, the organization has established itself as one of the premier professional sports franchises in the country. With a Stanley Cup, ten division titles, a Presidents’ Trophy and more than 20 former team members enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Blues have etched one of the most storied histories in the NHL. Through its history, the Blues have hosted more than 35 million fans and invested millions in the St. Louis community via Blues for Kids, the team’s charitable foundation. For more information, please visit nhl.com/blues.