Fans visiting Manchester for the UEFA Cup Final today (Wednesday 14 May) are expected to bring a boost of £20 million to the city and another £5 million to the wider North West.
Manchester city centre spokesperson Councillor Pat Karney said: "Tens of thousands of Rangers supporters are arriving from Glasgow, other parts of Scotland and all points of the globe. And there are thousands of Zenit fans from St Petersburg, the UK and all over the world.
"We are giving them a warm Manchester welcome - they are ambassadors for their home cities and their own football clubs.
"Independent assessments originally estimated that a sell-out final would benefit the city to the tune of about £5 million. But that was before Rangers qualified. Now we reckon that up to 100,000 fans without tickets will also be here, tripling the spending.
"Because fans are coming earlier and are expected to stay longer, that should add another £5 million, making the total benefit to the city at least £20 million.
"All the hotels in Manchester are full and fans have been snapping up hotel beds as far afield as Blackpool, Liverpool and Wigan. That could mean in the region of another £5 million spending in the region, making a grand total for the North West of at least £25 million."
Rangers FC and FC Zenit St Petersburg will do battle for the UEFA Cup at the City of Manchester stadium, kicking off at 7.45pm.
Three fan zones have been set up in the city centre to entertain fans in the run-up to the match and to show it live in the evening on big outdoor screens. The fan zones are in Albert Square, Piccadilly Gardens and Cathedral Gardens.
Teams of street cleaning staff will be working hard to keep Manchester clean during the friendly invasion, and more than 400 extra toilets are located across the city centre and in East Manchester. The city will be very busy and people are advised to allow extra time for journeys, to make use of public transport and to be aware of road closures around Albert Square through the day and beside the City of Manchester stadium in the evening.
More information on all you need to enjoy the big match in Manchester
Media contact: Martin Hellewell