A new study of the economic impact of the city of Cleveland hosting this year’s Gay Games has suggested that the event caused an additional at least $52 million to be spent in the city during the 8 day event.

Kent State University economics professors Shawn Rohlin and Nadia Greenhalgh-Stanley authored an economic impact study into the 2014 games which asked participants about their spending during the games and found that 75% of the 20,000-plus who participated or attended the Games lived outside the Cleveland/Akron metropolitan area.

They also found that locals and non-locals spent $38.8 million in the main sectors of the local economy, including hotels, restaurants, bars and gas stations and that an additional $20.6 million was generated in local incomes – the equivalent of 726 full-time jobs.

The study also found that holding the games in Cleveland had stopped local spending going elsewhere, with 64% of local participants saying they would have traveled outside Northeast Ohio to participate in the Gay Games, which would have seen $8.4 million in spending taken away from the region.

‘The Gay Games provided an important economic impact for the local Northeast Ohio economy, including higher revenues generated for local businesses and new local jobs,’ co-author Shawn Rohlin found.

The success has lead the Akron city tourism industry to hope they can repeat a similar success next year.

‘Akron and Summit County truly benefited from the thousands of new visitors during the week of the Games, and we already are experiencing long-term success,’ Akron/Summit Convention & Visitors Bureau president and CEO said.

‘The city’s street festival during the Games – Flair Fest – was such a success that it will return next year and the International Gay Rodeo Association is already talking about coming back.’