Notre Dame Football’s success creates excitement, economic boost
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe success of Notre Dame’s football season is bringing energy and an economic boost to the South Bend Region.
“It’s been several decades since we felt the excitement that we’re feeling right now,” South Bend Regional Chamber CEO Jeff Rea said. “There’s just something different about Coach Freeman [and] this team…the last couple weeks in particular, have just exceeded every expectation.”
Both South Bend International Airport and Indianapolis International Airport have added flights to Atlanta, where Notre Dame will play Ohio State Monday night.
“It just is that level of excitement and fashion and fervor that I think is more specific to college football than anything else,” Jeff Jarnecke, executive director of Visit South Bend Mishawaka, said. “You can’t overstate the impact of the University of Notre Dame on any given day of the week. But you throw football in there, and then those numbers are just incredible.”
Notre Dame stared its playoff run on Dec. 20 at home against Indiana. Visit South Bend Mishawaka data shows hotel revenues in the region for that week in 2023 were $850,000. In 2024, it was more than $4 million. Jarnecke tells Inside INdiana Business it’s hard to connect a dollar figure amount to the level of brand recognition.
“I think the value proposition, not only just from having our own team in it, is that allure and mystique that’s the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is going to grow,” Jarnecke said. “We’re actually making an additional investment in media spend…[when someone goes to search] Fighting Irish or search South Bend, you’re going to get served an ad to come and experience it.”
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Currently, Visit South Bend Mishawaka says more than 60% of St. Joseph County visitors come because of Notre Dame and home football weekends generate $1.2 million towards the overall hotel motel tax budget.
Because Notre Dame remains independent, the Irish get to keep all of its $20 million playoff money, while Ohio State has to share with the Big Ten Conference.
“For a long time, college conferences effectively set up this deal with the members of the conference where everyone shares equally in the pot, and the conference counts as a team in the pot as well. So when Ohio State goes to the College Football Playoff, their share of the money goes back to the Big Ten and the Big Ten gives everyone an equal cut of that money,” John Holden, an Indiana University Business Law & Ethics professor, said.
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Last month, Freeman agreed to a long-term contract extension, making him one of the nation’s highest-paid coaches.
The College Football Playoff National Championship Game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.