Economic Impacts of the 1996 Arctic Winter Games

Abstract

The fourteenth Arctic Winter Games (AWG) were held in Eagle River, Alaska in March 1996. It marked the first time in their 26-year history that the AWG had been held in Southcentral Alaska. This study estimates the impact of the games on the regional economy. The direct initial increase in spending resulting from the AWG was an estimated $2.49 million and the initial equivalent increase in jobs was 43.4 person-years of employment. The total impact of the games - including the indirect effects - was $4.26 million in increased regional income and the equivalent of 62 person-years of employment. Note that these estimates are based on assumptions outlined in the text of the report. Those assumptions qualify the findings. This study does not explicitly consider the 125,000 hours of volunteer time that were required to stage the games. We generated our estimates with the Alaska Input/Output model, which the Institute of Social and Economic Research developed to analyze the Alaska economy. Many additional impacts of the 1996 Arctic Winter Games are not quantifiable but are nonetheless real. Certainly the games increased the sense of community in the area of Eagle River, Chugiak, and Anchorage. The games and the events held in conjunction with them also undoubtedly contributed to increased understanding among the people of the North. Almost two thousand people from across the North came together at the games. The Russian dancers from Magadan, for instance, provided Alaskans and others with a glimpse of their culture. One young girl from Baffin Island in Canada's Northwest Territories had never seen trees before she came to take part in the games.