Outdoor sports impact economy in a big way
Ray Grass
Having looked at the price of new drivers and irons last fall, I would have guessed golf. And, I would have been wrong.
According to a recent survey on spending, people spend the most on exercise equipment — $5.22 billion in 2006, which is the most recent figures.
But then, in second place is hunting/shooting at $3.7 billion and third is golf at $3.6 billion.
Anyway you punch keys on the calculator, that's a lot of money spent on recreating.
According to numbers released by the National Sporting Goods Association, the money spent on hunting/shooting is up 4.1 percent over 2005 figures.
Golf was No. 2 in 2005, but dropped to No. 3 in 2006.
According to the report, it shows sportsmen are willing to spend to enjoy their sport. I think anyone who has visited Cabela's recently can attest to that. The store is constantly busy.
Broken down in the report by categories, firearms accounted for $2.18 billion in 2006 sales, airguns $224.1 million, ammunition $977.1 million, knives $51.8 million, paintball guns/packages $220.9 million and reloading equipment $52.0 million.
According to another report, this one from the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, "Utah's 351,000 hunters and anglers are among the most prominent and influential of all demographic groups, spending more than $696 million a year on hunting and fishing."
The report goes on to say that "spending by hunters and anglers directly supports 13,000 jobs, which puts $350 million worth of paychecks into pockets of working residents around the state ... and generates $70 million in state and local taxes."
It then went on to offer comparisons:
• Sportsmen support more jobs in Utah than the combined employment of Brigham Young University and Utah State University — 13,000 jobs vs. 11,000.
• Utah sportsmen annually spend more than the combined cash receipts from cattle and dairy — the state's top two agricultural commodities — $696 million versus $631 million.
• Utah sportsmen outnumber the populations of Salt Lake City and Provo — 351,000 versus 292,000.
• The economic stimulus of hunting and fishing equates to an astounding $1.9 million a day being pumped into the state's economy.
Figuring in hunting, fishing and shooting, the report shows that on a national level there are 34 million sportsmen age 16 and older who spent more than $76 billion in 2006 and supported 1.6 million jobs.
I think it's important, too, to recognize the amount in sportsman's dollars that go into nonhunting wildlife projects that also help the state's economy.
Take, for example, the millions being spent on revegetating rangelands destroyed by drought, old age — as in the case of sagebrush — and bugs.
I don't think there's any question that hunting and fishing are important activities here in Utah and do, in fact, contribute greatly to our quality of life.
E-mail: grass@desnews.com
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