By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

PHOENIX — Revenue from annual sports events in the Valley, like the Fiesta Bowl and Waste Management’s Phoenix Open, is well-known. But other less-promoted events still bring in visitors who spend money in the state and in Maricopa County.

That’s especially true when a neighboring state sends a team or group of athletes and their fans into the Valley.

The New Mexico Lobos brought thousands of cherry-colored fans for the Dec. 26 Rate Bowl college football game at Chase Field.

Combined with the snowbirds and other Valley residents with ties to Minnesota, whose Golden Gophers were this year’s other Rate Bowl team, some less-predictable sports crowds can bring many visitors into downtown Phoenix or other parts of the Valley.

Fans were treated to a close game easily marketed for the ESPN worldwide audience as well, with Minnesota coming from behind to win in overtime, 20-17.

The Rate Bowl attendance was 27,349 — more than the L.A. Bowl game between Washington State and Boise State, and more than the 2024 Rate Bowl crowd of 21,659 that watched Rutgers battle Kansas State.

Both teams, especially New Mexico, covered much of the Chase Field available seating, including the upper deck, and packed into sidewalk tailgate events held before the game.

It also might have helped that both teams came in with momentum, winning narrowly in their regular-season finales with much to play for in a bowl. The win was the Gophers’ seventh straight bowl victory under coach P.J. Fleck; New Mexico was bowl-eligible for the first time in nine years under first-year coach Jason Eck.

The season was also a resurgent one for attendance at New Mexico home games, and that carried over to Phoenix. Nick Gallegos, who grew up in New Mexico, left his home in Virginia and joined his mother, Terri, in a section behind the Lobos bench for the game.

Gallegos said when it was announced that the Lobos were heading to Phoenix, it was a “no-brainer” to take the trip to root on the team.

“I’ve been a Lobos fan since I was born and a football season ticket holder for over 25 years,” Gallegos said. “There have been some pretty lean years. This year has felt different all season. There is a renewed sense of hope, optimism and pride in Lobo football with Jason Eck at the helm that hasn’t been felt around Albuquerque in a long, long time.”

Having a neighboring state’s visitors means many can travel in by driving. Louis Trujillo wears a large red sombrero and Lobo gear to games. He made the drive to Phoenix with some friends on Christmas Day for the game.

“Just look for the guy in the big red sombrero you can’t miss me and my people,” Trujillo said, just as he and several Brian Urlacher-jersey-wearing friends began yelling their support.

The Lobos’ loud support was dulled somewhat by the team’s lack of success on the field. Both defenses rose up when needed, and though the Lobos got the game’s first two scores, it was the Gopher offense who finished drives more effectively overall.

New Mexico had just 88 passing yards in the game, with its offense never scoring a touchdown. After Minnesota scored midway through the fourth quarter to go up, 14-6, Damon Bankston’s 100-yard ensuing kickoff return touchdown and 2-point conversion brought the Lobo fans back into what was then a tied game.

Gopher redshirt freshman receiver Jalen Smith made a diving 12-yard TD catch in overtime — his second touchdown of the contest — to end the game and overcome New Mexico’s field goal that opened overtime.

The exact ways Phoenix’s smaller-scale bowl game brings revenue into the Valley is tough to articulate immediately, especially over periods of bowl name changes, far-away disparate opponents and the interruptions of COVID-19.

But going back a few years, the “non-Fiesta” bowl has historically been a revenue driver.

In 2016, Fiesta Bowl organizers said their game and the Cactus Bowl generated $169.4 million in economic impact the previous year, according to a study. That study also estimated that the Arizona-based bowls generated $79 million in direct spending in the Valley, plus tax revenue in excess of $7.5 million.

The study breakdown specifically attributed $30.7 million in revenue from the Cactus Bowl, in additional to $27.1 million in organizational spending.

Will fans from neighboring states like California, Utah and New Mexico return alongside their teams in future years for bowl games? That might depend on the moment.

“This doesn’t happen every year, so for me, it’s not an accomplishment that should be overlooked,” Gallegos said.

Jason W. Brooks can be reached at jbrooks@iniusa.org. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as those meet our  Civility Guidelines.

Jason W. Brooks
News Editor | Chandler Independent

Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.

Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.

Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.

Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.

Community: He supports animal shelters.