Saudi royals spending boosts economy near Mayo Clinic

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Rochester officials say members of Saudi Arabia’s royal family did enough spending during a visit to the Mayo Clinic to give the area’s economy a shot in the arm.

City officials say Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz arrived in the Minnesota city on Nov. 15 for a checkup at the Mayo Clinic and was accompanied by at least five princes and hundreds of others.

The king left Wednesday, but some members of his group remain in Rochester.

Rochester Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director Brad Jones says a conservative estimate of the royal family’s spending is up to $1.5 million.

Officials say that amount should offset the area’s economic woes. Jones calls that a “great shot in the arm.”