Every fall, thousands of Duck fans, rival fans and alumni travel to Eugene to watch the Oregon Ducks football team take the field. These out-of-towners patronize the city’s hotels, providing critical income in an otherwise slow time of the year for tourism. Every week during football season, hotels in Eugene are sold out. Without the Pac-12 season, these hotels will take a massive financial hit. 

A 2011 financial report by Timothy Duy, the director of the University of Oregon Economic Forum, calculated that out-of-state fans spent $31.8 million in the local economy, which in turn created nearly 700 jobs in Lane County. In-state fans generated even more revenue for the city, as they spent $60.4 million, supporting 1,261 jobs. 

College football’s cancellation will especially impact smaller non-chain hotels that cater to Oregon fans.

“It affects everybody, but smaller hotels are more dependent on it,” Joseph Bailey, manager of Timbers Inn in Eugene, said of college football.  

In particular, the Oregon-Ohio State game’s cancellation was a massive loss for hotels, as Buckeyes fans were expected to come to Eugene in droves and spend multiple nights in hotels. Marquee non-conference matchups with teams with large fan bases are especially profitable. The same 2011 report estimated that the average out-of-state visitor spent $31 per night on lodging.

The hotel industry, like all sectors of the American economy, has gone through incredible ups and downs during the COVID-19 pandemic. During March, the hotel industry was in a precarious position, with stay-at-home orders becoming more and more common. 

“When the virus first hit, it was a doomsday scenario, but by the middle of June, things picked back up again,” Bailey said. 

But Eugene hotels have been able to keep afloat during the summer, which is the peak of the tourist season. Lower nightly rates and stimulus checks coupled with the fact that many travelers are opting out of airports means that foot traffic has increased. 
However, without football season to buoy hotels during the slow season, many hotels will have to operate at a loss for the fall season. Without a potential spring football season, hotels may not run a profit until next summer.