Boys State Hockey Tournament bringing much-needed business to downtown St. Paul
The Boys State Hockey Tournament is in full swing at Grand Casino Arena in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota.
Fans from across the state are downtown Friday, and that's helping St. Paul businesses immensely.
Mike Sanborn and his wife Kari made the three-hour drive from Hibbing to St. Paul to watch their hometown team play in the state tournament. As fans, it's a weekend hat trick of sorts. Book a hotel, eat at the restaurants, and buy tickets to the games.
"Everything is very busy. Very busy," said Kari Sanborn.
And that's great for Zamboni's on Seventh Street, which is just footsteps from Grand Casino Arena.
"The energy down the street is incredible. For like eight weeks straight," said Kristi Brunner, Zamboni's co-owner.
Brunner said business picks up when state tournaments start in February. But boys state hockey seems to draw from every corner of Minnesota. Traveling fans become eager customers.
"Warroad and International Falls. They come and they fill the hotels and they fill the restaurants and are streets are bustling. And the energy. These kids fight to be where they are at the state tournament," said Brunner.
And data shows that this weekend alone, St. Paul businesses will generate about $4 million in sales above what they normally see."
"If you look across the country, March isn't necessarily the best time for the restaurant bar industry. But for us in downtown St. Paul, because of all this foot traffic, it's one of our best months," said Joe Spencer.
Spencer is the president of the St. Paul Downtown Alliance. He said the hockey surge is timely because there can be a downtown lull after the holidays. For March, they'll have a million visitors beyond what they normally get.
"All of the state high school sports tournaments we see a great bump. But the boys state hockey tournament we see the biggest bump. This is one of the biggest weekends of the year," said Spencer.
The St. Paul Downtown Alliance said outside of high school sports, the week leading up to St. Patrick's Day is big for business. And if the Minnesota Wild continue to do well and have a deep playoff run, that'll also help.
