Three "prominent Minnesota executives have signed on to join the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee" for the '18 game at the new Vikings stadium, according to Rochelle Olson of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. DAVID HASELMAN will be COO, "the strategist behind all logistics from permits and police to traffic management." WENDY WILLIAMS BLACKSHAW was named Senior VP/Marketing & Sales and DANA NELSON will be Exec Dir of the '18 Legacy Fund, "a charitable fund that will have a lasting impact on the state." Haselman "has more than 35 years of experience leading companies such as Triple 5 Worldwide, NBC Universal, Northwest Airlines and Mall of America." Williams Blackshaw "will lead all branding and get corporate sponsorships." Host Committee CEO Maureen Bausch hired Nelson "to focus on a fund to support the welfare of Minnesota kids." The committee is "working out of office space provided at U.S. Bank." The members’ salaries "were not made public" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 6/24).
RAISING ARIZONA: In Phoenix, Peter Corbett cites a study by the Super Bowl XLIX Host Committee as showing that the event gave the local economy a $720M boost, "the largest ever for a valley event." The study, released yesterday at the Arizona Governor's Conference on Tourism in Paradise Valley, "estimated visitor and media spending" at $295M from Jan. 24 to Feb. 1. The overall economic impact of $720M "takes into account a multiplier factor, or ripple effect, as visitors' dollars circulated through the local economy from one company to the next and through employee wages." An Arizona State Univ. study "of the previous Super Bowl in Glendale" in '08 estimated visitor spending of $218M and an overall economic impact of $500M (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 6/24).
