A research team of students from ASU's W. P. Carey School of Business combed the metropolitan Phoenix area before, during and after Super Bowl XLII earlier this year to gauge the game's economic impact on Arizona.

The three-month study, led by 24 students in the W. P. Carey sports business MBA program, concluded that the game and its related activities generated a record $500.6 million in direct and indirect spending by visitors and organizations in town for Super Bowl week. The game was played Feb. 3 in Glendale.