WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- Along with the New Orleans Saints, Palm Beach County hopes Super bowl XLIV was one for their record books too.
Tourism officials, who say the industry is down about 20% this year, had predicted a $50 million economic impact from the big game.
They're already placing calls to hotels, restaurants and retailers hoping the final number beats expectations.
"I think down south in the county, I think they're feeling really good down there," said Roger Amidon, Executive Director of Palm Beach County's Tourism Development Council. He says the TDC is still waiting for confirmation on the numbers.
Palm Beach County tourism officials hoped to attract more business this time around by regionalizing the Super Bowl's publicity and events - making it a South Florida draw, not just Miami.
To do that, Palm Beach County played host to a dozen more events this year than it did during the 2007 Super Bowl, including the official kick-off party on Clematis Street in West Palm Beach.
Those events put more money in local merchants' pockets, including vendors at Palm Beach International Airport, where the morning after the game, fans were snapping-up last minute souvenirs.
Jeannie Herstein, who works at one of the airport stores says, "They were buying stuff!" even at 4:30 in the morning. "Lots of Super Bowl stuff!"
And who better personifies the Super Bowl's success than Derrick McCray? His Mangonia Park BBQ stand was selected for this year's Super Bowl Sunday VIP tailgate party.
McCray fed about 12,000 very hungry, very influential people. As a result he made some potentially lucrative business connections.
The big game's impact on his business extends way beyond the weekend. "We think we might get a couple of investors to come in and do what we need to do to expand, put up a building, and franchise," says McCray. "Or get our sauce on the market. So some of our dreams are coming true."
Amidon says his office expects to get the final economic numbers from the Super Bowl sometime in April.
Those numbers, he predicts, may see an unexpected boost. There were indications that some people were extending their Super Bowl visit by a couple of days rather than head back to a cold winter storm being forecast along the East Coast.
