Buffalo in December.
R.I. hotels, bars, restaurants may get boost, but Boston leads for host city status
If the New England Patriots win this coming weekend in a semifinal playoff
game, it appears Providence would not serve as “host city” for the subsequent
AFC Championship game, like it did seven years ago during the Patriots’ Super
Bowl shuffle.
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According to John T. Mousseau, executive director of the Rhode Island Sports Council, Patriots officials are steering National Football League officials toward Boston as the host city if the Jan. 18 AFC Championship game were to be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.
“The sports council is making contact with the NFL … it appears the Patriots are pushing league officials to locate their headquarters in Boston at this point,” Mousseau said in a Dec. 29 voice mail message.
He added the early indication is that the visiting team for the championship game could be located in Providence and that the sports council is looking into “expanded opportunities” for the city.
Providence played the role of host city for the AFC Championship game in 1997 when the Patriots faced, and defeated, the Jacksonville Jaguars. When it was announced Providence would serve as host city back then, Providence and Boston dignitaries exchanged heated words on a virtual verbal gridiron.
The host city designation generally means NFL officials and hundreds of media personnel set up shop in that particular city, resulting in an evident economic boost.
Mousseau said he’s contacted Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline’s office and made city officials aware of the present situation. He added that in 1997 Providence hosted a rally in downtown the day before the championship game.
“We’re trying to put these pieces in place right now and we’ll probably know a little more as the event gets closer,” Mousseau said.
The sports council, a public/private partnership between the Rhode Island
Economic Development Corporation and the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce,
looks to attract sporting events to the state as a tourism vehicle and economic
generator.
