25 Feb 2023

ICC T20 delivers almost $95 million to SA

More than 100,000 spectators helped international cricket deliver almost $95 million in economic spend across South Australia in November 2022.
 
Visitors to the state – from both interstate and international – helped boost expenditure during the four days of the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup, which was held at Adelaide Oval.
 
It comes as major events and festivals this year continue to fill hotel rooms and restaurants, with the international LIV Golf Adelaide, the inaugural AFL Gather Round, Adelaide Fringe and WOMADelaide all reporting record sales.
 
Major events are expected to see a $400 million return to South Australia this year, with the growing calendar including Tasting Australia, Adelaide Festival, Adelaide Motorsport Festival, Australian Masters Games, Adelaide Equestrian Festival, Illuminate Adelaide, FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, and Harvest Rock.
 
This week, Adelaide Fringe organisers confirmed they are on track to hit a record 1 million ticket sales, while several AFL Gather Round matches are exhausted, LIV Golf ticket sales have hit more than 42,000 over the three days, and WOMADelaide four-day, three-day and Saturday passes already sold out.
 
The events also show a significant spike for forward accommodation bookings, with the March long weekend, the AFL Gather Round and LIV Golf Adelaide showing exceptionally strong forward data.
 
When Adelaide hosted seven ICC T20 matches in November, the India v England semi-final helped book out the city hotels – with a massive 91 per cent of rooms in the CBD occupied.
 
Adelaide played host to seven total matches during the event, including six Super 12 stage matches played over three double-header match days and a Semi-Final on the 2, 4, 6 and 10 of November 2022.
 
In its official ICC post event summary, the report confirms the value of major events to South Australia, with a total of 20,461 international visitors travelling to the state, in addition to 18,306 interstate visitors – with 62,042 intrastate trips made to Adelaide.
 
The report highlighted the significant impact of the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup in South Australia, including:

  • 100,809 gross attendance
  • $94.5 million total economic impact
  • Total specific and extended stay visitors:
    • 16,528 (3 days average stay) from interstate
    • 14,543 (4.2 days) from international
  • Total interstate (18,306) and international visitors (20,461 – including specific visitors, media, teams and officials) was 38,767, in addition to 62,042 intrastate visitors
  • The event created 426 jobs (including 246 direct jobs and 180 indirect jobs).

The event saw record-breaking viewership and engagement numbers for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 and is the ICC event with the most digital engagement ever with 6.58 billion video views across all ICC platforms and a global dedicated TV audience of 1.28 billion.

Minister for Tourism, Zoe Bettison said events like the ICC T20 not only brought tens of thousands of visitors to South Australia but it drove almost an $100 million hit to the economy – "highlighting again why major events are a critical component of our post COVID business recovery."
 
"We had great crowds, plenty of passionate supporters from some of the most cricket-mad countries in the world, and our city was pumping. It’s exactly why we pull out all stops to secure big events and festivals, as it all helps fill our hotel rooms, pubs, cafes and restaurants," Minister Bettison said.
 
"We’re seeing events bring more and more people to our state, increasingly from overseas and interstate, who like what we are doing here, what our world-class events and festivals offer, and how South Australia is growing as an iconic destination of choice."

South Australian Cricket Association CE Charlie Hodgson said Adelaide Oval is one of the best and most beautiful sporting venues in the world; somewhere that every cricket fan has on their bucket list.
 
"Cricket at Adelaide Oval is something far more than simply a sporting event, it is a must-attend celebration of sport, with huge crowds and world-class entertainment on offer," he said.
 
"When players, fans and commentators are asked their favourite ground in the world, the answer invariably comes back Adelaide Oval."

Adelaide Oval Stadium Management Authority CEO, Nick Addison said the ICC T20 was "another one of those magical ‘you had to be there’ Adelaide Oval events."
 
"It was a privilege to host the games and the 100,000 locals and visitors who flooded the stadium," he said.
 
"And the excitement continues to build. We’re now looking forward to the Ed Sheeran concert, the AFL season and Gather Round as well as the NRL State of Origin – that’s just over the next few months."