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The Final Four Makes Super Bowl Look Cheap: NCAA Number of Day

The Final Four the Makes Super Bowl Look Cheap: NCAA Number of Day

(Bloomberg) -- 11 times.

That’s how much more expensive it will be for U.S. Bank Stadium to host this year’s Final Four than last year’s Super Bowl.

The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, the public body that owns and operates the NFL venue on behalf of taxpayers, has budgeted $6.9 million for the semifinals and finals of this year’s NCAA Tournament -- to be played out between Michigan State, Texas Tech, Auburn and Virginia. When the stadium hosted the Super Bowl last year, it cost $627,000.

The Final Four Makes Super Bowl Look Cheap: NCAA Number of Day

The main difference between the numbers? The Final Four is three separate games with over 72,000 people -- not just one -- and the NFL reimburses its championship host cities for public costs like security, which the NCAA does not.

That $6.9 million operating budget does not include the roughly $3.5 million that the MSFA will spend on custom curtains to cover the stadium’s glass panels and keep the lighting consistent for television broadcasts. The curtains should help the facility bid for more major events in the future, including the NFL Draft, religious conferences, graduations and large corporate events.

Previous Numbers of the Day

April 2: $500
April 1: $37.8 million
March 29: $1,013,203
March 28: 11 percent
March 27: $300,000
March 26: 6.4
March 25: $225,000
March 22: $8.5 billion
March 21: $7.4 million

To contact the reporter on this story: Eben Novy-Williams in New York at enovywilliam@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, John J. Edwards III

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