SPOKANE, Wash. — The madness is here, literally here in the Inland Northwest. Spokane is host to the first two rounds of the NCAA March Madness Tournament for both the men's and women's teams. This means the city will be in the national spotlight as the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena and the McCarthey Athletic Center are host sites in 2024.
"We can't buy this kind of advertising. This is amazing for Spokane all eyes are on Spokane," said Kate Hudson with Visit Spokane.
Hosting the first two rounds of March Madness is a slam dunk for the Inland Northwest. "We're estimating that about $2.4 million in economic impact for Spokane County," Hudson added.
That's a lot of dough for the local economy, and a lot of dough being tossed at David's Pizza, which is one of the closest restaurants to the arena. Owner Mark Starr estimates they'll go through about 500 pounds of dough a day throughout the course of the tournament in Spokane. It's all hands-on-deck for his staff until the final buzzer.
"There won't be an empty seat, the streets will be full, the parking lots will be full," he said.
The Lilac City was supposed to host the men's tournament in 2020, but the pandemic forced the event to be canceled. The last time Spokane hosted the men's tournament was in 2016 and Starr remembers how busy the restaurants and bars were
"Before 11 a.m., we'd already sold thousands of dollars in beer, food and liquor, Bloody Mary's were off the hook!" Starr recalled.
Spokane Sports is on the hook for bringing in major sporting events like the NCAA tournament. CEO Ashley Blake said they actually put in the bid on this tournament four years ago. Spokane Sports teamed up with the University of Idaho and the Spokane Public Facilities District to host the tournament.
"The city certainly rolls out the red carpet when we bring the events to town, not only from the media perspective, but from the fan experience from the athlete experience. I really think that mid size-market is is what setting us apart," Blake said.
It's why Spokane is becoming known as a place that can host big events. The Spokane Public Facilities District runs the venues and brings events into the community to generate economic impact. SPFD CEO Stephanie Curran said bringing these events in helps our community flourish.
"If you have a city that people want to visit. It's also a city that people want to live in. And if you have a city where people want to live, it's a great. It's also a great city for people to visit," Curran said.
Tourism is a big business, it has a $1.4 billion dollar in economic impact every year according to Visit Spokane. All that spending provides about $1,000 dollars in tax relief to every household in the county.
"So when visitors come for events like the NCAA Tournament, they are paying a lodging tax. They're paying the sales tax that we all pay. And so that takes income provides relief for all of us who live here," Hudson said.
Spokane Sports said they already submitted bids to host the tournament again in 2027, and 2028, as well as a bid for NCAA Indoor Track and Field at the Podium.
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