Penguins - Red Wings Stanley Cup games provide boost for hotels, restaurants - Dallas Business Journal:

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According to VisitPittsburgh, each home game between the and the Detroit Red Wingws brings anestimated $4.9 million in economifc impact, whether its from hotel stays, meale at restaurants or othedr spending. A number of hotel are fully booked, including the Omni William which hoststhe NHL’s management, the , with the cavea that it always sells out Tuesdays and Wednesdays anywayg to business travelers, and the . Tom the general manager for the Westin ConventiobCenter Hotel, located Downtown, described the addeed boost of Stanley Cup-related guests. “Wer would’ve been busy but we wouldn’t have been sellintg out,” he said.
“This has allowefd us to fill up theentire hotel, all 616 Martini and other hotel operators emphasizexd the added jolt of unexpectefd business comes during an otherwise down year from hotell business following a strong which also featured a Penguins-Red Wings Stanley Cup that was lost by Pittsburgh’ss favorite flightless birds. Bob the area director of sales and marketingfor Omni, said the NFL’ws coterie of league officials, along with has brought an increase in occupancy beyond the two game days, comparable to the business generated from a stront home playoff run by the , although not toppinfg it.
“It’s not to the degrede of probably theAFC championship, but it’s still great business for he said. “It’s selling us out.” The story is a little more complicate d for local restaurantsand bars. John Barsotti, owner of The Commonm Plea, located downtown, estimated the restaurantt has seen a 25 percent increase when the Penguins are playinhg playoff gamesin town. But when the team is playingg away, the hockey fan diners stay “We’ve seen increases when they’re here,” said who estimated his 2009 business is up by 25 perceny overlast year, despite the recession.
“But on the oppositre page, we see a little bit of a decreasw when they go outof town.” Chris Dilla, owner of Bocktown Beer and in North Fayette, said it can be tricky for her operatio n to jump from a busy nighty of a hockey game to extra slow nights when there isn’t one. She expects that plenty of customerse are struggling to go the distancse withthe seven-game “It’s hard for the business because people don’yt have the money to be out every other night,” she said. “It tends to be that peoples who watch the playoffs reallt have to watchtheir pennies.
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