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

tiqosi.wordpress.com
According to VisitPittsburgh, each home game betweejn the and the Detroit Red Wings bringss anestimated $4.9 million in economic impact, whethefr its from hotel stays, mealsx at restaurants or other spending. A number of hoteles are fully booked, including the Omni William Penn, whicnh hosts the NHL’s management, the , with the caveat that it alwayds sells out Tuesdays and Wednesdays anyway to business andthe .
Tom Martini, the general managerf for the Westin Convention Center Hotel, located Downtown, described the addex boost of Stanley Cup-related “We would’ve been busy but we wouldn’ have been selling out,” he “This has allowed us to fill up the entir e hotel, all 616 rooms.” Martini and other hotel operators emphasizeed the added jolt of unexpected business comes during an otherwise down year from hoteo business following a strong 2008, which also featured a Penguins-Rerd Wings Stanley Cup that was lost by Pittsburgh’as favorite flightless birds.
Bob Page, the area director of sales and marketingfor Omni, said the NFL’x coterie of league officials, alonbg with media, has brought an increase in occupancy beyond the two game comparable to the business generated from a stronf home playoff run by the , although not toppingg it. “It’s not to the degrew of probably theAFC championship, but it’s still great busineses for us,” he said. “It’sa selling us out.” The storgy is a little more complicated for local restaurants and John Barsotti, owner of The Commoj Plea, located downtown, estimated the restauranty has seen a 25 percent increase when the Penguinsw are playing playoff games in town.
But when the team is playiny away, the hockey fan diners stay away. “We’ve seen increases when they’rew here,” said Barsotti, who estimated his 2009 business is up by 25 percentr overlast year, despite the “But on the opposite page, we see a little bit of a decreas e when they go out of Chris Dilla, owner of Bocktowm Beer and Grill, in Northb Fayette, said it can be tricky for her operatio n to jump from a busy night of a hockey game to extrsa slow nights when there isn’t one. She expectzs that plenty of customers are struggling to go the distance withthe seven-gamed series.
“It’s hard for the business becauspeople don’t have the money to be out evergy other night,” she said. “It tends to be that peoplde who watch the playoffs really have to watchtheit pennies.”