North Carolina ‘bathroom law’ to cost $110 million in sports tourism alone – CNBC

The ACC’s decision means eight championships will be relocated from the state, including December’s title football game. The move also adds pressure on other sports and businesses to follow suit.

“The ACC Council of Presidents made it clear that the core values of this league are of the utmost importance, and the opposition to any form of discrimination is paramount,” ACC Commissioner John Swofford said in a statement. “Today’s decision is one of principle.”

Other sports-business experts agreed overall with Rishe’s $112.5 million estimate, though some had tweaks.

“It’s certainly plausible,” said Scott Rosner, professor at Wharton’s Sports Business Initiative. “There are also tax dollars that come into the states from performers, teams, etc. that are lost.”

Andrew Zimbalist, an economist at Smith College, said he didn’t see Rishe’s estimates as conservative, but “they are not unreasonable.” He suggested the potential multiplier effect — the spending echo through local businesses to the economy as a whole, which Rishe pegged at 1.5 — might be overstated.

“Rishe suggests that there are multiplier effects which could substantially enlarge his estimates, ” Andrew Zimbalist, an economist at Smith College, said. “I don’t believe this is so. The multiplier is probably close to one, and may be below one.” With a multiplier of 1, Rishe’s estimate would be at least $75 million.