Did L.A. businesses get the promised World Cup bump?
Businesses and bureaucrats this week got an early indication of whether the World Cup will be worth the beer sales Los Angeles is paying for.
Although there were some industries struggling before the Olympics and important lessons to be applied, the number of people drinking beer in bars was unprecedented.
Queuing for England matches at Ye Olde King’s Head in Santa Monica formed four hours before kick-off. Customers ordered full English breakfasts and Guinnesses and sang national anthems.
In an industry that hasn’t seen traffic return since COVID-19 and was further hit by the Palisades fire last year, it was a welcome sight for Lisa Powers, the restaurant’s operations manager.
“The city felt alive again,” he said.
The English bar had prepared for months; he was buying televisions, changing seats, hiring staff and creating a World Cup cocktail menu. Staff were still surprised by the turnout.
“A lot of businesses around us have closed and we’ve had some scary times,” he said. “I hope people come back with their families and feel like they did before.”
Tom Navratil, 22, of Thousand Oaks, center, and a man who asked not to be named, right, watch Croatia’s game against England at The Nile Restaurant and Bar.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Many bars and restaurants in the area felt the same impact, according to data from the Beer Institute. In California, the World Cup resulted in a 15% increase in beer sales at restaurants, bars and stadiums. This is a much larger increase than any other host state has seen and is equivalent to close to 5 million bottles of beer.
Other local businesses such as In-N-Out, Trader Joe’s and Erewhon also saw increases.
Los Angeles and other host cities needed football fans to spend money to make the event worth the time, effort and money.
A. pink 2024 report The World Cup is projected to bring hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of jobs to the Los Angeles area, as 180,000 people gather in the area to sleep, eat and spend.
There were initial concerns that people were not able to attend the event due to high ticket prices and the difficulty of obtaining visas for citizens of some countries.
While people are excited about the boost the event has generated, it’s still not as much as expected, said Stafford Nichols, director of research at Beacon Economics, which is helping with financial analysis on Los Angeles’ bid for the 2028 Olympics.
A 2024 report predicting the economic impact of the World Cup in Los Angeles predicted a $160 million revenue increase for hotels. However, according to Nichols, this figure approached $100 million.
That was still a 10% increase from the previous year, but Nichols said in his analysis that increase could be due to hotels increasing their prices, not more travelers.
“The World Cup was good, useful but probably not great,” he said. “And it looks like we paid too much.”
Looking forward to the Olympics, Nichols said he thinks policymakers need to be mindful of rising taxes and pay attention to how international tourists respond to price increases.
“I don’t want us to overplay our hand and lose the atmosphere of goodwill and prove that there will actually be a long-term economic benefit in the Olympics,” he said.
LA County is using lessons learned from the World Cup to prepare for 2028.
Stephen Cheung, CEO of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Organization, said the success of watch parties and other events around the county is a sign of potential.
“What needs to happen right now is more education so businesses can really understand the scope,” he said.
The World Cup beer boom showed the potential and the need to prepare.
Some bars in SoFi Stadium’s zip code and surrounding neighborhoods sold two to three times the amount of beer they would typically sell during the same period.
That number may be even higher at Joxer Daly’s, a sports bar in Culver City.
Restaurant manager Eugene Ganly was initially concerned that people would not show up because so many viewing parties were held all over the county; Ganly said he was quickly proven wrong.
Had to hire extra security during the World Cup because the bar was so crowded.
During a match in Mexico, the bar ran out of beer and had to close early and tell customers to leave.
“We couldn’t keep the beer on the shelves,” he said. “They drank us dry. Mexico drank us dry.”
The crowds were a welcome boon for the bartenders, livening up the usually quiet atmosphere at Joxer Daly’s, far from the beaches and beer gardens where customers congregate during the summer months.
“It was just one big party for a solid six weeks,” Ganly said.
