The first two rounds of the men’s NCAA basketball tournament brought tens of thousands of visitors and their dollars to the heart of the region for a weekend of matches.
Before the weekend of events, the St. Louis Sports Commission expected that March Madness’ return to St. Louis for the first time in a decade would drive over $10 million in local economic impact. Business owners say they felt the impact, and with the Cardinals’ and Battlehawks’ seasons now in full swing, they hope to see more foot traffic.
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Why It Matters: Major sporting events and conventions are important economic drivers for local businesses and hotels near those venues.
St. Louis hosting games in the first weekend of the men’s NCAA basketball tournament last month helped power big numbers for some downtown establishments, including the breakfast and lunch spot Ukraft. Matt Ratz, who owns Lou Restaurant Group, which includes two Ukraft locations and soon to open GuacoTaco, says sales downtown were double what they normally are.
“St. Louis got very lucky with the draw,” he says. “We had probably the most rabid fan base in the country, in Kentucky, and we had Iowa State fans travel. Mizzou, by the luck of draw, got sent here. Purdue had a really nice crowd.”
And the basketball tournament was just one element boosting revenue, Ratz says. The same weekend St. Louis also hosted the second of two consecutive weekends of the girls volleyball Junior National qualifier.
“Friday we had the luxury of having March Madness, the volleyball [tournament], and our business workers,” Ratz says. “Friday was close to a record revenue day that we had. It meant a lot.”
Anecdotally, the volleyball tournament, hosted at America’s Center, may have been a more important event for driving sales for some establishments than basketball. St. Louis has hosted single or multiple weekends of the event for the last six years running.
“That volleyball convention for downtown St. Louis is incredible,” says Corey James, who owns Buddy’s Wine Bar and Bella’s Cafe. “It’s probably one of the best conventions we’ve ever had for Bella’s over the past six years. We literally open up early because they come in.”
What’s Next: The next time St. Louis hosts another NCAA event will be next year’s men’s Division I wrestling finals. Ratz, for his part, is hopeful the strong showing in St. Louis this year will spur more tournament nods in the future. “I went to the Missouri-Miami game and the atmosphere was incredible,” he says. “I hope the NCAA saw that [so] we can get more.”
