DEMOS report on South American Games' economic, tourism impact | OneFootball

The report “2026 South American Games: economic opportunities and legacy for the city of Santa Fe,” prepared by the DEMOS Center for Studies, estimated the economic impact of the XIII South American Games 2026 for the city of Santa Fe.

More than 40 million dollars in urban infrastructure for the city of Santa Fe and nearly 4 million dollars in revenue from tourism spending appear as the main legacy of the XIII South American Games 2026, which will take place starting September 12 in three host cities: Santa Fe, Rosario, and Rafaela.

The data come from the report “2026 South American Games: economic opportunities and legacy for the city of Santa Fe,” prepared by the DEMOS Center for Studies, which estimated the economic impact of the sporting event for the city of Santa Fe.

The total impact of the sporting competition was estimated at more than 60 million dollars, taking into account infrastructure spending, tourism and organizational spending, and the multiplier effect across the local economy as a whole.

The study considered three central dimensions: investments in sports, urban, and housing infrastructure; tourism spending generated by athletes, delegations, and visitors arriving in the city for the Games; and the multiplier effects of those investments on the local economy.

According to the DEMOS report, the 2026 South American Games represent the largest investment associated with a sporting event in Santa Fe’s recent history and are also a strategic opportunity to promote the city’s economic, urban, tourism, and social development.

The presentation of the report took place this Monday morning at the Yacht Club. It was led by DEMOS Center for Studies director Eugenio Serafino, accompanied by Eduardo Alfaro, author of the report and member of the DEMOS economic team; La Capital department senator Paco Garibaldi; Santa Fe province Tourism Secretary Marcela Aeberhard; and the president of the Santa Fe Hotel and Gastronomic Business Association, Agustín Macinsky.

Also in attendance were national deputy Pablo Farías, provincial deputy Mariano Cuvertino, members of the Chamber of Tourism Entrepreneurs, the Santa Fe Events Bureau, commercial and business entities from the city and the region, representatives of city clubs, and event producers, among others.

During the event, Senator Paco Garibaldi presented the main guidelines of the bill to promote tourism investment, aimed at reducing taxes, simplifying procedures, and encouraging innovation geared toward developing tourism in the city of Santa Fe and the region.

Infrastructure investments

The investments for the city of Santa Fe and the region are as follows: * Renovation of the athletics track at the High Performance Sports Center (CARD): The works include the full remodeling of the athletics track, which has already been in use for more than 40 years, in order to achieve international certification. A high-performance Class 1 synthetic surface will be installed, in accordance with World Athletics technical standards. In addition, an auxiliary warm-up track will be built and the areas for the different disciplines will be refurbished: long jump, triple jump, high jump, pole vault, and steeplechase, along with the shot put, javelin, discus, and hammer throw sectors. The project includes the construction of a stand with capacity for 900 people, restrooms, storage for sports equipment, and the infrastructure needed for electronic timing and performance measurement. The planned investment for this project amounts to 2.4 million dollars.

* Construction of an indoor micro-stadium at CARD: The province is moving forward with the construction of an indoor micro-stadium with capacity for 3,472 spectators and 74 spaces for the press. This venue is designed to host indoor Olympic disciplines, as well as recreational, cultural, and educational activities. The project has a budget of 7.3 million dollars.

* Construction of the Sports Shooting Center in the city of Recreo: The project calls for the construction of a Sports Shooting Center in the western section of the former General Belgrano Military High School grounds, next to National Route No. 11. The complex will be designed to host different modalities of the discipline, including a 10-meter indoor range with 30 firing lanes, a 25-meter range with 20 lanes, and a 50-meter range with 30 lanes. It will also include three shotgun ranges for the Skeet and Trap modalities, along with complementary spaces and logistical areas intended for the delegations’ operations. The project provides for a maximum capacity of 450 spectators in the shooting areas and 210 spectators in the shotgun area, allowing competitions to be held with a live audience. The investment exceeds 2.4 million dollars.

* Urban interventions: One of the main investments is the South American Village, located in the Esmeralda Este neighborhood, where 346 housing units are currently under construction to accommodate more than 1,300 athletes during the competition. Once the Games are over, those units will be converted into housing solutions for Santa Fe families, constituting one of the event’s main social legacies. The project requires an investment of more than 17.8 million dollars.

* Access to CARD: The intervention plan is complemented by the full renovation of Raúl Tacca Street, a key project to improve connectivity in the southern sector of the city. The project includes widening the roadway, adding new roundabouts, building pedestrian crossings, road signage, improvements to the hydraulic system, and creating parking spaces. This corridor is strategic for linking access to key infrastructure such as the micro-stadium, the High Performance Sports Center (CARD), and the Higher Institute of Physical Education. This project requires more than 4.5 million dollars.

* Western access and Garay Park: As part of the South American Games, the provincial government and the Municipality of Santa Fe signed an agreement worth 2.9 million dollars for two key urban interventions in the capital: the full renovation of Garay Park (2.6 million dollars) and the transformation of the city’s western access through the Iturraspe and Perón Avenue area (333 thousand dollars).

* Investments in club infrastructure: Hosting the South American Games in the city of Santa Fe will involve refurbishing and “fine-tuning” the facilities of local clubs engaged in nautical activities. These works include building improvements at institutions such as Club Náutico El Quillá, Yacht Club Santa Fe, Club Belgrano, Club Náutico Sur, Club Náutico Azopardo, and Club de Regatas Santa Fe. The total estimated investment amounts to more than 780 thousand dollars.

What tourism will bring Athletes, delegations, technical staff, journalists, and spectators arriving in Santa Fe for the South American Games will generate a significant flow of spending.

The sports schedule planned for the city of Santa Fe makes it possible to project the participation of approximately 2,000 people, including athletes and technical teams, which will generate demand for 12,600 overnight stays for athletes (in the Olympic village) and 4,400 overnight stays for staff (in hotels or other types of accommodation). Taking as a reference the average daily tourist spending reported by INDEC (90 USD as of December 2025), and assuming more limited daily spending in the case of athletes due to accommodation and meals being covered in the Sports Village, total tourism spending is estimated at around 3.9 million dollars.

The multiplier effects of the South American Games For the city of Santa Fe, the total estimated direct impact of infrastructure works spending, organizational expenses, and tourism spending is expected to exceed 47 million dollars.

To this must be added the multiplier effects of spending in the economy, that is, the successive rounds of spending that this outlay generates in the local economy: suppliers that increase their production, workers that increase their consumption, and sectors linked to the event that are energized.

The DEMOS report notes that every peso invested generates an expanded effect on economic activity, raising the total impact above the direct one.

Based on the available evidence, differentiated multiplier coefficients are adopted depending on the type of spending. For infrastructure investment, a multiplier of 1.3 is considered, consistent with the productive linkages of the construction sector. For tourism and organizational spending, a multiplier in a range of 1.5 to 2 is assumed, in line with their service-intensive nature and their capacity to generate indirect effects on local consumption.

These parameters make it possible to estimate that the total economic impact — including direct, indirect, and induced effects — will exceed 60 million dollars, reinforcing the event’s role as a driver of the city’s economic activity.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.