Corporate Super Bowl Spending Way Up - Thank you taxpayers for the money

[EV_Ares]

Companies thought it unseemly to lavish money on clients in the wake of TARP, but this year should see a big surge.


Following a three-year period when even the legendary Playboy Enterprises (PLA) Super Bowl parties fell victim to belt-tightening, U.S. companies are staging an entertainment comeback. Spending on lodging, transportation, food and beverage, and entertainment at the National Football League championship games fell 27 percent from 2007 to 2010, according to Pricewaterhouse Coopers. Early indications are that they'll grow considerably at Super Bowl XLV, to be played on Feb. 6 in Dallas, says Robert Tuchman, an executive vice-president at Premiere Global Sports' travel division.

Corporations account for 70 percent of Premiere's business for Super Bowl packages, says Tuchman. He says sales of ticket-and-lodging packages, which start at $4,435 per person, are up 50 percent to 60 percent from last year. "Companies are sitting on a lot of money and optimistic enough to spend on events that can generate more sales," says Tuchman.

Link to entire article: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_05/b4213022800249.htm