Economic Impact

Operation of The Orpheum Theatre impacts the Memphis and Mid-South economy in six distinct ways:

Broadway shows bring thousands of dollars in business to Memphis. Each year over 1000 members of the casts and crew of all productions spend an average of $225 per person per day on hotel rooms, meals, and other expenses. This economic factor provides a financial impact of approximately $1,579,500 to the city’s businesses each year.
Approximately 275,000 patrons visit The Orpheum Theatre annually, and nearly 33%, or 72,600 of those, come from outside of Shelby County. While in downtown Memphis, those out-of-town patrons generally spend a minimum of $140 per person on tickets, dining and parking, for a total of $10,164,000. An estimated 3% of those 36,300 couples will spend an additional $1,887,600 on hotels at an average rate of $160 per night. This brings the total annual economic impact for regional visitors to $12,051,000.
The Memphis Development Foundation pays over $510,000 in annual sales taxes to the State of Tennessee and Shelby County.
The Foundation pays the City of Memphis more than $300,000 annually to repay a 20-year bond issue for the $3.5 million the Foundation borrowed to fund part of the 1997 expansion at a total cost of $9.5 million.
The theatre spends over $1 million in Tennessee advertising annually.
Since 1977 the theatre has employed over 5,000 people and currently employs 40 full time and 225+ part time employees.