10184 W Belleview Ave, Suite 100 Littleton, Colorado 80127 303-991-0070 FAX 303-951-3733

MEMORANDUM

Date: March 11, 2014

To: Tim Romani, ICON Venue Group
Mike Harms, ICON Venue Group

From: Patty Silverstein, Development Research Partners
David Hansen, Development Research Partners

RE: The Economic Benefits of Construction of the New Colorado State University Football Stadium

The intent of this analysis is to estimate the economic benefits of construction of a proposed on-campus football
stadium at Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, Colorado. Construction of a new stadium in Fort
Collins will provide large but temporary benefits to Larimer County during the construction period. This memo
provides a high-level overview of the potential economic benefits of construction activity in Larimer County. It
should be noted that suppliers, contractors, and other variables for the project have yet to be finalized. Changes in
suppliers or other variables for the construction activity may change the benefits reported in this study. The
economic benefits estimated in this report are dependent on the project assumptions and are not guaranteed.
Economic Impacts Defined
Economic impact analysis is the analytical approach used to assess the measurable direct and indirect benefits
resulting from a project over a specific period. Only those benefits that can be measured or quantified are
included. Intangible benefits, such as enhancement of community character or diversification of the job base, are
not included.
The direct economic impacts, or business-to-business or consumer-to-business activity, have multiplicative effects
on the region. Therefore, multiplier analysis is used to trace the impacts on businesses, organizations, and
individuals affected by the project as the impacts work their way through the economy. Multiplier analysis
recognizes the interdependence of various sectors of the economy as activities in one sector spill over into other
sectors, stimulating business activity.
The multiplicative effects are discussed in terms of indirect and induced impacts (often collectively referred
to as simply indirect impacts). When a company purchases supplies from a local vendor, that local vendor in turn
provides payroll to its employees and makes purchases from other vendors. These other vendors in turn provide
payroll to their employees, and so on, providing the indirect impact of the project. On a separate but similar
spending track, when employees associated with the company spend their paychecks at local businesses, these
local businesses provide payroll to their employees, make purchases from other vendors, and so on, creating the
induced impact of the company. In other words, the initial dollars spent by the company on either purchases or
payroll are circulated throughout the economy a number of times.
The number of times that the initial dollars are circulated throughout the economy are estimated using economic
multipliers. The indirect and induced jobs and income flows generated by the direct spending patterns are
estimated using the Regional Input-Output Modeling System II (RIMS II) multipliers developed by the U.S.
Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. This analysis uses the industry-specific RIMS II
multipliers for Larimer County, Colorado. All values are presented in 2014 dollars.
There are three types of economic impacts discussed. First, the direct and indirect impact of the project on the
gross output of the region is estimated. This is the total value of the output produced by local firms and residents

Development Research Partners: The Economic Impact of New CSU Stadium Construction Page 2
resulting from the value of the output produced by the project directly. Gross output includes the value of both
intermediate goods and final products, so this is a larger value than gross domestic product (GDP) for the region.
Second, the total direct and indirect employment needed in the region to produce this level of output is
determined. These employees may be full-time or part-time, local or non-local workers. It should be noted that the
indirect employment supported may represent fractions of jobs, added to reflect whole positions. Third, the
analysis includes an estimate for the typical direct and indirect earnings associated with this level of production.
The Economic Benefits of Construction
Construction of the new CSU stadium is expected to commence in fall 2014. Construction activity will continue
throughout 2015 and is projected to be completed by summer 2016. The proposed stadium will seat about 40,000
people. The stadium will cost an estimated $254.2 million, which consists of $235.5 million for materials, labor,
equipment, fees, design, and project management, and $18.7 million for fixtures and equipment such as seating.
Not all of the $235.5 million in construction spending (labor, materials, and soft costs) will occur in Larimer
County. Based on estimates of local spending, about 17 percent of the construction costs will be spent directly
in Larimer County. This value includes 20 percent of the projects hard costs (including materials, equipment,
labor, and contractors fee, among other things) and more than five percent of the other fees and costs (project
management, design, legal, architecture, permits, and other services). In total, construction spending in the
county is an estimated $40.7 million.
Of the $18.7 million in fixtures and equipment, about 10 percent will be spent in Larimer County. Adjusting
the spending in the county to reflect a wholesale margin (wholesale spending less cost of goods sold),
1
yields
an estimated wholesaler benefit in the county of about $240,000.
The direct economic benefit in Larimer County of construction spending and purchases of fixtures and
equipment is an estimated $40.9 million, as detailed in column 1 of Table 1.
Project planners estimate that $81.5 million of the stadium costs represent compensation for nearly 1,200
construction workers in worker years
2
from 2014 to 2016. Based on estimates of local labor costs and wages,
the $40.7 million of direct local construction spending will include $13.1 million in earnings
3
for about 235
Larimer County construction workers in worker years from 2014 to 2016. Assuming workers are evenly
distributed throughout the 20-month construction period, local worker years will total about 35 in 2014, 140
in 2015, and 60 in 2016. This represents an average annual salary of about $48,460 per worker plus about
$7,270 in benefits.
Additionally, based on industry relationships revealed through the RIMS II multipliers for the wholesale trade
industry in Larimer County, $1.9 million of direct spending on fixtures and equipment will include $64,940 in
earnings for one more worker.

1
The entire value of fixtures and equipment purchases overestimates the benefits of this activity in the county. A wholesale
trade margin is used to estimate the spending that actually contributes to local wages and indirect business purchases. Based
on an analysis of the wholesale trade margins for stadium seating, only about 13 percent of the purchases will directly benefit
the county economy and have multiplier effects. The remaining 87 percent received by the suppliers represents the cost of
goods sold, dollars that generally exit the region as the suppliers pay for their inventory.
2
A worker year is defined as one person working full time for one year.
3
Earnings impacts are based on the portion of total compensation (including wages, salaries, and benefits) that is likely to be
spent locally and includes wages and salaries, paid leave, and supplemental pay. Earnings were estimated based on data from
the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.

Development Research Partners: The Economic Impact of New CSU Stadium Construction Page 3
In total, the stadium construction activities will include $13.2 million in earnings for 236 local workers, as
detailed in column 1 of Table 1. All earnings values are included in the total value of output; earnings are not
in addition to the value of output.
The direct construction, fixtures, and equipment spending in the county will likely support $31.4 million in
additional output in all industries throughout the region. This includes the value of local spending by the
construction workers (the induced impact) and of the local supplier companies and their employees (the
indirect impact). The indirect and induced impacts are detailed in column 3 of Table 1.
The production of the $31.4 million in additional output in all industries throughout Larimer County requires
about 188 workers, referred to as the indirect workers. These workers will have associated earnings of about
$8.5 million (the indirect earnings), or an average of about $45,080. (Table 1, Column 3)
Therefore, the total direct and indirect benefits of the construction activity in Larimer County include $72.3
million in total output ($40.9 million direct output +$31.4 million indirect and induced output) and 424
employees (236 direct employees +188 indirect employees) earning a total of $21.7 million ($13.2 million
direct earnings +$8.5 million indirect earnings) during the construction years. (Table 1, Column 4)
These benefits are temporary, occurring only during the construction years from 2014 to 2016. The bulk of
the construction activity will likely be completed in 2015.
This analysis does not indicate whether the direct and indirect employees are residents of the local area or
nonresidents that commute into the area. In addition, planners anticipate the project will require work from a
small portion of out-of-state workers. Most of these workers will likely commute daily to the site from
communities that are close to Fort Collins, such as Cheyenne, Wyoming. While the project may have a few
workers who will require lodging and have additional retail spending benefits during the construction years,
the benefits are likely minimal and have not been estimated for this study.
The region will receive additional benefits annually from the on-going operations and visitor spending once
the stadium is completed. Estimating these benefits to Larimer County would require additional research and
data including the incremental increase in annual employment and university spending for the stadium, the
amount of local spending this would likely generate, the number of visitors attending stadium events, and
visitor spending and travel patterns.
Table 1: Total Construction Benefits, 2014-2016

Calculation Note: (Total Impact) = (Direct Impact) + (Indirect + Induced Impact)
Source: Development Research Partners, based on multipliers for Larimer County from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis,
Regional Input-Output Modeling System (RIMS II), 2002 U.S. Benchmark I-O Data and 2010 Regional Data.
Di rect Impact
(1)
Mul ti pl i er
(2)
Indi rect +
Induced
Impact (3)
Total Impact
(4)
Construction Activity
Total Output ($M) $40.7 1.7708 $31.3 $72.0
Earnings ($M) $13.1 1.6443 $8.5 $21.6
Employment 235 1.7955 187 422
Fixtures and Equipment
Total Output ($M) $0.2 1.5301 $0.1 $0.3
Earnings ($M) $0.1 1.5418 $0.0 $0.1
Employment 1 2.1126 1 2
Total
Total Output ($M) $40.9 $31.4 $72.3
Earnings ($M) $13.2 $8.5 $21.7
Employment 236 188 424