Taylor Swift's shows in Pittsburgh generated $46M, agency says

Taylor Swift’s two Pittsburgh concerts generated $46 million in direct spending, according to tourism agency Visit Pittsburgh.

The megastar singer brought record-setting crowds to Acrisure Stadium for her Eras Tour in June.

About 83% of ticketholders came from outside of Allegheny County and packed the region’s hotels. According to Visit Pittsburgh, hotel occupancy in Allegheny County averaged 95% for the June 16-17 concerts, a 31% increase from the same time last year.

Swift fans on average paid more than $300 for a hotel room, more than 106% more than rooms went for at the same time last year, Visit Pittsburgh said this week.

The weekend marked the highest occupancy the county has experienced since the covid-19 pandemic. It was the second-highest weekend occupancy in the county’s history, second only to a July 2019 weekend that saw Pittsburgh host Atlantic Coast Baseball, the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, a Pirates home series against the Phillies and Third Eye Blind and Jimmy Eat World in concert, the tourism agency reported.

Out-of-town Taylor Swift fans spent about $42.9 million on hotels, restaurants, retail, transportation and other attractions that weekend, according to Visit Pittsburgh. County residents spent an added $3.07 million.

The busy weekend also generated $3 million in state and local tax revenue, according to Visit Pittsburgh data.

“Pittsburgh’s tourism industry is events-driven, and the success of the Taylor Swift concert demonstrates our region’s capacity to host top-tier concerts and other large-scale events with big audience draws,” Visit Pittsburgh President and CEO Jerad Bachar said.

Related:

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• Photos: Thousands of Taylor Swift fans took in the show outside Acrisure Stadium

It was a “record week” for Voodoo Brewing, said Kyle Lucas, who manages its North Shore location.

“As soon as the lots opened both days, we were full,” he said, adding the restaurant had to order extra food and drink to be prepared.

The crowds for the Eras Tour, he said, started patronizing businesses earlier than the sports fans he often sees in the area. The restaurant also was more “consistently busy” than it is for many other events, he said.

“Even for Steelers games, people are only in the restaurants for maybe two or three hours,” Lucas said. “It was longer. It was more people — and more people all there for something they love very much.”

Not only were the Swifties good for business, he said, they also were genuinely good customers.

“Everyone was in really good spirits,” he said, adding that the security guard hired for the weekend didn’t have to deal with any problematic customers. “For business, it was great, and everybody was very nice.”

Some fans even gave bartenders and servers the friendship bracelets that have become part of Swift’s shows.

Vic Bovalino, president of Burgatory and Shorty’s, said his businesses similarly saw a “much more sustained business rush” from the Eras Tour than they typically see from other concerts or events.

Crowds started Thursday, he said, when fans began lining up to buy tour memorabilia from merchandise trucks parked on the North Shore.

“It was one of the most pleasant business weekends we’ve ever had,” Bovalino said.

Sales at the North Shore Burgatory and Shorty’s were about 20% or 25% higher than they are during typical North Shore events, he said.

Swift fans, he said, made an “exceptional crowd” in a “phenomenally good” mood.

“She left a glow on the community,” he said of Swift.

Bovalino said Burgatory also tried to use the business boom as an opportunity to give back to the community, offering a special Lavender Haze shake and donating the proceeds to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.

“The Taylor Swift concerts attracted a multigeneration record-setting crowd and generated an outstanding economic impact for local businesses and the entire community,” said Jimmie Sacco, Steelers vice president of stadium operations and management. “The entire event was a success.”

Visit Pittsburgh said its economic impact calculations were derived using information provided by Acrisure Stadium and “an industry standard event evaluation process” crafted by Destinations International.