The UB report supports the economic return of the Copa América despite not meeting expectations

BarcelonaMore than four months after the America's Cup ended, this Tuesday the Barcelona Capital Náutica Foundation has made public the report that it commissioned from the University of Barcelona (UB) to evaluate the real impact that the competition had had for Catalonia. This document argues that the America's Cup contributed 1,034.2 million euros to the country's GDP and accounted for 1,740 million euros in turnover, but it also shows that the reality of the competition has fallen short of the expectations it had generated.

To gauge the distance between reality and expectations, it is interesting to analyse the differences between the UB report of today and what the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) prepared before the competition. That first study predicted, for example, that the competition's contribution to the GDP would be another 200 million euros. The UPF also said that almost 19,000 jobs would be created, while the UB report indicates that around 6,000 fewer would have been created in the end.

These differences are basically explained by the difference between the expectations of attendees at the competition and the figure that was finally obtained. The report that the UPF had prepared before the America's Cup had been based on the projection of 2.5 million visits given to the university by the Barcelona Capital Náutica Foundation itself.

Now, the study by the UB's Bosch and Gimpera Foundation -led by professors Jordi Suriñach and Esthe Vayà- lowers that figure. Although the cameras that counted how many people attended recorded 2,717,150, based on the surveys they carried out on visitors, the researchers drew up a formula to make a double correction: on the one hand, they calibrated the visitors who could be counted at two different points on the same day, and on the other, those who returned more. A calculation that leads them to say that, in total, there were 455,504 participants who, by repeating several days, made 1.6 million visits.

97 million from the public coffers

Another novelty that the report reveals is that the public investment to make the Copa America in Barcelona possible would have finally amounted to 97 million euros without counting VAT. Of these, 48 million are in the concept of price (the fee) to host the competition and which would have been distributed as follows: 8.2 million from the Barcelona City Council, 18.5 from the State, 13.2 from the Generalitat, 3 from the Barcelona Provincial Council, 2 from the Barcelona Tourism Consortium and 3 more from the Vilanova i la Geltrú City Council.

On the other hand, the report accounts for another 48.9 million euros (also without VAT) that would have been contributed by the different institutions in the form of current expenses and investments. All of this makes the America's Cup, according to municipal sources explained to ARA, the second sporting competition in Catalonia that has involved the greatest public investment, only behind the Olympic Games.

3.3 euros for each euro invested

However, the report also highlights that through tax revenues and social security contributions, the administrations have recovered 3.3 euros for every euro invested. Specifically, the study includes 111 million euros collected by the Copa América in VAT, 53 million in personal income tax, 43.9 million from corporate tax and 110.7 million generated in contributions. This is one of the data highlighted on Tuesday by the deputy mayor for the Economy of the City Council, Jordi Valls, who stressed that the impact of the Copa América on the city has been "positive", despite admitting that the expectations that had been generated were higher.

From the opposition, the leader of Barcelona en Común, Janet Sanz, has said that the study confirms that the data that had been given to justify the city hosting the Copa América "were inflated" and has called for a "public audit". Also from Junts, its leader, Jordi Martí Galbis, has demanded that the "final audit" of the Barcelona Capital Náutica Foundation be handed over, which the government promised on Tuesday to have ready within two months.

For his part, ERC councillor Jordi Castellana has stressed that it is a study that analyses data on the economic impact of the event based on tourist attendance and the spending it has generated. An impact, in the opinion of the Republicans, "ephemeral", which does not clarify for him whether "it makes sense" to invest public money in an action of this type. On the other hand, from the PP, Daniel Sirera, regretted that Barcelona refused to host the America's Cup again.