Nevadans expected to spend $133M on purchases related to Super Bowl

Nevada’s largest retail association anticipates that locals will spend $133 million on televisions, furniture, apparel and food for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Kansas City Chiefs game this Sunday, despite fewer Super Bowl viewing parties this year.

The Retailers Association of Nevada notes that this year’s spending projection for the Silver State is down from the $162 million figure from 2020. Still, more than 1.8 million Nevadans are likely to watch the big game and are willing to spend money on new televisions, team swag and chicken wings.

“Despite the ongoing pandemic that will limit the usual Super Bowl gatherings, Nevadans remain eager to watch the game, celebrating at home with their families, and air (fryers) will be going into overtime to keep up with the chicken wing demand,” said Bryan Wachter, senior vice president of RAN, in a release Thursday.

Consumer spending across the U.S. for the big game is down as the COVID-19 pandemic dampened the usual Super Bowl party plans: The National Retail Federation found that 25 percent of Americans surveyed said they would either throw or attend a party this year, the lowest percentage ever reported since the trade group began monitoring its Super Bowl spending survey more in 2007.

That federation found that 186.6 million Americans plan to watch the Super Bowl this year, adding that viewers are planning to spend an average of $74.55 on items for the big game, a nearly 16 percent drop from the record of $88.65 reported last year. The national group said that 3 percent of Super Bowl fans will watch the big game at a bar or restaurant, down from last year’s 46 percent and 5 percent, respectively, due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. The association found that food and beverages top viewers’ shopping lists as 77 percent of those surveyed plan to stock up on snacks and drinks.

Wachter said that despite the pandemic, some purchases will remain unchanged compared with the previous year: The trade group estimates that Nevadans will make purchases of 161,000 television sets to watch the Super Bowl and 196,000 purchases of team apparel clothing, figures unchanged from 2020.

Wachter said wagering and chicken wing consumption in the state will go up. The association estimates that 13.5 million chicken wings will be eaten in the Silver State during Sunday’s game; across the U.S., the National Chicken Council estimates 1.42 billion wings will be consumed, up 2 percent from last year.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board has previously said gross wagering on the Super Bowl totaled $154.7 million in 2020. The Retail Association of Nevada expects wagering at the state’s sportsbooks to be over $159.4 million this year.

“While overall spending is expected to decline this year, retailers across the Silver State will still be busy equipping shoppers with the televisions, apparel and chicken wings needed to enjoy the big game from a distance,” said Wachter.

Contact Jonathan Ng at jng@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ByJonathanNg on Twitter.