San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl drives over $85 million into the local economy over 10 years

SAN DIEGO, March 19, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- San Diego County Credit Union^® (SDCCU^®), San Diego's largest locally-owned financial institution, is proud of the significant impact the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl has had on its hometown. The more than $85 million dollars the game has driven into the economy over the past 10 years is the primary reason why SDCCU chooses to sponsor it.

"The game puts out-of-town travelers into San Diego hotels and restaurants during the two-weeks over the holidays when our region's tourism industry is at its slowest. This is important to us as San Diego's largest locally-owned financial institution because it puts the employees of these hospitality organizations, many of whom are our customers, to work. This not only benefits the hospitality employees, but has a huge impact on the entire San Diego economy," said SDCCU President and CEO Teresa Halleck.

A total of 9,265 fans traveled from outside San Diego County to attend the game, which marked its 10^th anniversary and matched up San Diego State University and the United States Naval Academy on Dec. 23—and an estimated 5,310 hotel rooms were sold. Total game attendance was 33,077 and the economic impact was $5 million, according to a study conducted by the San Diego State University Center for Hospitality and Tourism Research.

"The game is a win-win for our organization, customers, community and the entire credit union industry as a whole. It elevates awareness of credit unions and puts us on a national playing field when it comes to serving the financial needs of Americans," said Halleck.

The San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl is the only college football bowl game among the 39 games to have a credit union as a title sponsor and SDCCU has served as its title sponsor since the game's inception in 2005. The game is played at Qualcomm^® Stadium in San Diego, which is the home field of the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League.

The San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl is organized each year, along with the Holiday Bowl, by the San Diego Bowl Game Association. Since 1978, the two games combined have generated an economic benefit of over $730 million for the San Diego region.

"Our organization exists to generate tourism, exposure, economic benefit and civic pride for San Diego and this year's games did just that. We are proud of the significant economic impact of this year's events as well as their cumulative impact over the past three-plus decades, which could not have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors, such as SDCCU," said Mark Neville, executive director of the San Diego Bowl Game Association.

For more information on the San Diego Bowl Game Association, visit sandiegobowlgames.com.

San Diego County Credit Union is San Diego's largest locally-owned financial institution serving San Diego, Riverside and Orange counties. SDCCU has assets of $6.8 billion, over 284,000 customers, more than 35 convenient branch locations and 30,000 surcharge-FREE ATMs. SDCCU provides breakthrough banking products that meet the demands of today's lifestyle and delivers banking services that save customers money. SDCCU is leading the way, offering FREE Checking with eStatements, SDCCU Mobile Deposit, mortgage loans, auto loans, Visa^® credit cards and business banking services. Federally insured by NCUA. Equal Housing Opportunity. Equal Opportunity Employer. For more information, visit www.sdccu.com.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150319/183367-INFO

SOURCE San Diego County Credit Union

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