Local News

A dramatic spike in the economy

Report shows Spikin’ in the Street brought in $245,000

NEW ULM -- The volleyball nets are down and the sand has been swept off Minnesota Street, but the money the tournament brought to town is still being counted. 

A new report says the two-day sand volleyball tournament held downtown on July 31 and August 1 brought $245,672 in visitor spending to New Ulm. 

That number only counts people who traveled at least 50 miles to get here.

New Ulm Chamber President Sarah Warmka said the report was prepared by the Chamber using cell phone data from Placer.ai and the University of Minnesota’s Community Impact Snapshot methodology for festivals and events.

The City of New Ulm has a subscription to Placer.ai and provided the data used in the analysis. For Spikin’ in the Street, the event area was mapped in Placer.ai to estimate the number of people who visited downtown during the event and how far they traveled to get there.

The Chamber then used the University of Minnesota’s Community Impact Snapshot methodology to estimate how much those visitors spent while in New Ulm.

The $245,672 does not represent all the money spent in New Ulm that weekend. It focuses specifically on what the University calls “new money."

When someone who lives in New Ulm spends money here, that money is already part of the local economy.  When someone travels to New Ulm and spends money here, that spending brings new money into the community. This report focuses specifically on that visitor spending.

To provide a conservative estimate, the report only counted people who traveled at least 50 miles to New Ulm.

“I know I personally spent quite a bit of money that weekend, it doesn’t count any local spending, not anyone from Mankato, etc., ” Warmka said. 

That means a person living in New Ulm, Courtland, Sleepy Eye, or Mankato and attended Spikin' in the Street and spent money in the town, it was not included in the total.

Over the two days, the phone data showed about 12,200 visits from about 10,400 different people. That number includes everyone who was downtown during the event, not only Spikin’ participants and spectators.

A state legion baseball tournament was also taking place in New Ulm that weekend. Some of those visitors may have been in town for the tournament or other activities.

The cell phone data grouped visitors based on the estimated distance between their home location and New Ulm. About 1,600 visitors traveled between 50 and 100 miles and were classified as day visitors. 

Another 950 traveled more than 100 miles and were classified as overnight visitors, based on the University of Minnesota’s methodology. Together, those 2,550 people who traveled at least 50 miles to New Ulm are the only ones included in the visitor spending estimate.

To turn those people into dollars, the University of Minnesota developed average spending profiles using data from 38 economic impact and visitor studies conducted between 2014 and 2025, with spending amounts adjusted to current dollars.

Based on those studies, the average day visitor spends $53.89, while the average overnight visitor spends $167.84.

For overnight visitors, that average includes $61.11 for lodging, $37.17 at restaurants, $21.61 for gasoline, $18.61 for shopping and $9.50 for entertainment, along with spending on groceries, transportation and other expenses. 

Day visitors spend an average of $21.73 at restaurants, $15.12 on shopping, $8.41 on gasoline and $4.17 on entertainment, along with other expenses.

Multiplying the number of visitors by the average spending estimates results in about $86,224 in spending from day visitors and $159,448 from overnight visitors, for a total estimated visitor spending impact of $245,672.

That figure represents direct visitor spending at places such as hotels, restaurants, gas stations and stores. It does not include the additional ripple effects that spending can have throughout the local economy.

For example, if a restaurant had to buy more hamburger buns because it was so busy that weekend, that extra buying is not counted. If a server earned more in tips and then spent those tips at another store in town, that second purchase is also not counted. 

For the City of New Ulm, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Convention and Visitors Bureau, having estimates like this provides a new way to demonstrate the impact of local events. It can help show sponsors, grant committees, community leaders, and other stakeholders how much visitor spending an event can bring into the community.

The same methodology can be used to estimate visitor spending associated with other festivals and events in New Ulm, providing a consistent way to better understand and demonstrate their economic impact. 

The Community Snapshot tool was developed by the University of Minnesota Duluth Bureau of Business and Economic Research and the University of Minnesota Extension.

For more information Warmka said people can contact Heather Bregel at the City of New Ulm EDA at heatherb@newulmmn.gov and Brigid Tuck at the University of Minnesota Extension at tuckb@umn.edu.