PROVIDENCE – The Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau is reporting a banner year for sports bookings in 2024, having already secured 14 events in the first three months alone.
Alana O’Hare, senior director of communications and special projects, said the organization is seeing a total first-quarter bump “thanks in large part to our sports business,” which cumulatively accounts for more than half of the total spending draw and hotel room bookings and not only eclipsed 2022 and 2023 numbers but pre-pandemic levels logged in 2019.
And it's not all about bright lights and television coverage of large-scale and nationally popular leagues. This year's "VolleyFest-Providence" volleyball tournament resulted in 1,739 contract hotel rooms and an estimated economic impact of more than $1 million, said Tom Reil, PWCVB senior vice-president.
“Most people probably don’t realize it. The big names get a lot of attention. But the smaller tournaments are huge business for the entire state,” said O'Hare. “Because when they come in they use the rinks and courts across the state. [Hockey tournaments] will go to every sheet of ice that Rhode Island has.”
Through the work of the R.I. Sports Commission, a division of PWCVB, these 14 events should bring in close to $12 million in direct spending, 15,000 hotel room nights booked and 61,800 attendees to Providence and Warwick.
The bureau usually competes with so-called tier 2 cities like Pittsburgh, Pa. And Charlotte, N.C.
O'Hare says organizers want to know how smoothly can transportation be coordinated and the various venues' capacities.
“Aside from the tourism value, sports agencies are looking at if you have enough space to host the teams and hotel space to fit the number of attendees," she said. “Those are the kinds of things they look for as necessity. Do you have enough physical space? What's your airport like? Is it easy to drive to your destination? And we have all those things.”
And the economic benefit is often spread around the state, said O’Hare. Smaller-scale competitions from cheerleading to youth hockey often utilize facilities in surrounding cities, a helpful boost especially since hotel room rentals and restaurant business tend to drop in the winter months.
“This helps fill in those gaps," said O'Hare. “We’re seeing that the sports business is now proving to be a huge boost for hotels, businesses and overall local economies."
In 2022, the Varsity Spirit’s Spirit Fest Grand Nationals welcomed 400 teams in a three-day event that drew 17,000 attendees who booked almost 3,000 hotel room nights across 21 properties for an estimated economic impact of more than $2 million. That event is returning in 2024 and PWCVB projects $3 million in direct spending.
Following the Army-Navy game held at Gillette Stadium back in December, there are some high-profile sporting events on deck, including the NCAA hockey regionals in March that has contracted 751 hotel rooms and $823,576 in estimated economic impact; and the NCAA "March Madness" basketball tournament coming to the Amica Mutual Pavilion in 2025.
Plus, Gillette Stadium will be one of the sites used when the U.S. hosts the FIFA World Cup in 2026 with Canada and Mexico.
“We are a sports destination, and that’s not just because we have, traditionally, top-ranked teams to root for across major league sports," said Jonathan Walker, director of sports sales for PWCVB. “These events fill hotel rooms, book space in our convention center, bring in families from across the country, and utilize facilities around the state. All of that means business for Rhode Island.”
Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com.