PROVIDENCE – A weekendlong celebration of basketball madness proved to be an economic win for Rhode Island and its capital city. There’s now optimism for both the Ocean State potentially again being a site for the country’s most prominent college sports tournament and for businesses to grow going forward. Thousands of basketball fans were in
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PATRONS FILL UP the Black Sheep on the corner of Westminster and Empire streets in Providence on March 20 during the 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. / PBN PHOTO/JAMES BESSETTE[/caption]
“We had a nice crowd. Bar was full and seats were full, and people really enjoyed it,” Crenca said. “It was more a service to the city and another light to choosing Providence for March Madness.”
Patrick Maguire, Narragansett Brewing Co.'s marketing director, told PBN its taproom on Tockwotton Street near India Point Park saw a 23% revenue increase last week over the same time last year leading up to and during March Madness. He also said the taproom's business on March 22 was the best Saturday that Narragansett Brewing Co. had all year thus far.
"The crowd was out, everyone was in a happy mood that was perfect for beer drinking," Maguire said.
Both Crenca and Worthington said they had to slightly navigate their block party festivities, which included music on the streets, around the cold, raw weather from March 20-21 at the tournament’s genesis. Worthington said Black Sheep got additional business over the weekend from normal crowds at Sports & Leisure, due to the North Main Street establishment suffering flooding issues.
But once the March 22 crowds came in for the games, the area was lively, Worthington said.
“We had a lot of people walking around that corner [of Westminster and Empire streets],” Worthington said. “We got lucky for sure.”
Worthington said the lone drawback was bars having to close at 1 a.m. on March 20, which impacted Black Sheep from capitalizing on crowds coming out of the St. John’s University-University of Nebraska Omaha game, which started after 10 p.m. He said he had wished the city allowed for bars to be open one hour later that evening for some additional business.
Along with restaurants, some area shops also got a financial boost from March Madness. Lisa Paratore, owner of home décor store Homestyle on Westminster Street, told PBN her store’s revenue increased by 20% over the weekend, with March 21-22 being particularly busy in the shop.
Paratore said it's typical for her store to be busy during citywide festivals and related events, but more often than not “no one was buying anything.” March Madness, with several thousand out-of-towners in the city throughout the weekend, was different, she said.
“[March Madness] crowds translated to purchases. It introduced our small business to those who would not normally know who we are,” Paratore said. “It was good exposure for us and [March Madness] certainly helped with our cashflow.”
Paratore is optimistic Homestyle will see growth because March Madness could help drive the store’s e-commerce side going forward with new customers shopping via Homestyle’s website.
Owners and representatives at Symposium Books, also on Westminster Street, told PBN they saw increased business at the bookstore to the tune of a 5%-10% revenue increase from the basketball tournament. John A. Dorsey, partner for West Warwick-based law firm Ferrucci Russo Dorsey PC and who is receiver for Providence Place mall, told PBN the parking garage was at 85% capacity over the weekend, higher than usual, and store owners saw "considerably more" foot traffic going through the mall.
While Dorsey didn't have specifics on how much the foot traffic translated to store sales in the mall, Dorsey did say the basketball tournament being the city was a "huge help" for the mall in its long journey out of its current financial difficulty.
"When you have a bigger event like the NCAA [tournament], it does give a big jolt to getting the community actively engaged and into the mall," Dorsey said.
Moving forward, along with other big events scheduled soon to be held in Rhode Island, local officials are optimistic that Providence may again host part of the college basketball tournament. The earliest Providence can again host the NCAA tournament is 2029.
[caption id="attachment_490829" align="alignright" width="455"]
MURPHY'S DELI & PUB on Fountain Street in Providence hosts a block party on March 22 just before the second-round games of the 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. / PBN PHOTO/JAMES BESSETTE[/caption]
Adamo said the state will put another bid in to the NCAA to be a future site host. She said the AMP selling out for all six NCAA tournament games helps make Rhode Island attractive because “you want a packed arena [shown] on television.” Plus, the NCAA likes when the tournament “takes over an entire town,” Adamo said, noting there were 10 separate block parties held over the weekend across downtown Providence.
Providence has a “storied basketball history,” with the Big East Conference being established in 1979 in the city with Providence College as an anchor school, which also makes the city attractive to the NCAA, Adamo said.
“When you put that all together, it’s a compelling package [to sell to the NCAA],” she said.
Adamo said having the basketball tournament come before the large JLC Live construction convention – scheduled for March 27-29 at the R.I. Convention Center – allows for the state to have two weekends of large crowds and significant economic impact.
Joshua Miller, owner of Trinity Brewhouse, told PBN before the basketball tournament that he is keeping the restaurant’s beer garden infrastructure operational for when JLC Live comes to town.
When asked if Rhode Island should host March Madness again, Worthington said: “100%.”
“I think everyone did a good job,” he said. “I think people in town had a good time. It was nice for the city for sure.”
(UPDATED 19th paragraph and added 20th and 21st paragraphs to include comment from John A. Dorsey, partner for West Warwick-based law firm Ferrucci Russo Dorsey PC and receiver for Providence Place mall.)
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at