Study: NCAA regional generated $11.3 million in economic impact.

The NCAA men's basketball regional held in Columbia in March brought a direct economic impact of $11.3 million to the capital city, a study by University of South Carolina sport and entertainment management professor Tom Regan found.

The first and second rounds of the tournament, featuring Duke superstar Zion Williamson and eventual national champion Virginia, drew 47,977 fans from 22 states, Washington, D.C., according to the study. That was the highest among the country's eight first- and second-round NCAA sites.

The study measured direct spending by out-of-town visitors attending games and related events at Colonial Life Arena, home to the University of South Carolina men's and women's basketball teams.

"Columbia and the region got tremendous exposure exposure that would very hard to pay for if we had to fork out those dollars," Bill Ellen, president and CEO of Experience Columbia SC, said during a news conference announcing the economic impact numbers on Wednesday.

Regan, who has completed approximately 100 economic studies ranging from the PGA Championship to NASCAR races in Darlington, handed out surveys during first-round games on Friday, March 22, and second-round games on Sunday, March 24. After running the information from those surveys through statistical software, he extrapolated data for the Columbia metropolitan statistical area.

Regan, who was out of the country on Wednesday, anticipated a large economic...

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