Evanston’s tax on Northwestern athletic tickets generated more than $1 million last fiscal year, possibly the most revenue ever linked to the decades-old measure.

“This is our highest result in a long time, if not ever,” assistant city manager Marty Lyons told City Council on Monday night.

The athletic contest tax, which adds 11 percent to a ticket price, raised $1,056,355 in fiscal year 2013, beating the city’s expectation by 39 percent.

Data provided by the city shows revenue from the tax is at its highest point in at least 13 fiscal years. Last fiscal year’s total is nearly double that of the 2009-2010 fiscal year.

Ald. Jane Grover (7th) said Tuesday that the trend is a testament to the growing popularity of NU’s athletic programs, particularly the football team, which drew ESPN’s “College GameDay” to campus in October.

“Success breeds success,” said Grover, whose ward includes Ryan Field. “I just think that (football) Coach (Pat) Fitzgerald’s success on the field has all kinds of repercussions for the local economy and the city’s bottom line.”

The football season was responsible for more than 80 percent of the revenue from the tax. The city’s budget for fiscal year 2013 forecasted $760,000 in revenue from the tax, citing potential for higher ticket sales due to football games at home against Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State. The Wildcats’ Oct. 5 loss to the Buckeyes and Nov. 16 loss to the Wolverines ended up tying as the season’s most attended home games, each bringing 47,330 fans to Ryan Field by the athletic department’s count.

NU averaged 39,307 attendees per home game last season, drawing more than 10 percent more fans than it did during the 2012 schedule, according to NCAA figures. NU’s year-to-year increase in average attendance was the third-largest in the Big Ten and 19th-largest in the NCAA.

The city’s ticket tax is at least 28 years old. City Council voted in 1986 to increase it from 7 percent to its current 11 percent, the Chicago Tribune reported at the time.

Email: patricksvitek2014@u.northwestern.edu
Twitter: @PatrickSvitek