The Heidelberg Project gets an estimated 35,000 "non-local" visitors annually.
http://web.williams.edu/Economics/Ar...SocNetwork.pdf
Now, how "non-local" is defined and how much money these people spend IN the city of Detroit is debatable. I find it hard to believe that most of those 35,000 travel to Detroit for the sole purpose of seeing the Heidelberg Project. Rather, it's likely that many are here for other reasons and take advantage of the opportunity to visit the Heidelberg Project while they are here.
I know a lot of people who have gone to see the HP and haven't spent a dime in the city as a result. They go, they look, and then they leave. MAYBE they go to Slow's after, and that would be about the extent of their in-city spending. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, I think that Lowell is exaggerating the local economic impact of the Heidelberg Project. That's not to say that it isn't worthwhile though.
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