The total economic impact of the recent College Football Playoff National Championship game between Clemson and Alabama at Raymond James Stadium is debatable, but there is no disputing that even though the game was held nearly 20 miles away, New Tampa felt some of the effect.
While certainly no Super Bowl, whose impact is larger and usually stretches more than a week in areas where it is held, Holiday Inn Express & Suites general manager George Sandona said the Tigers’ thrilling victory over the defending national champion Crimson Tide on Jan. 9 helped fill all of the rooms the day before and night of the game at his hotel, located on Galbraith Rd. off Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. in New Tampa.
“It was particularly good that it was a Sunday and Monday night, because, in the world of hotels, those do not typically sell out,’’ he said.
Sandona said that all 100 rooms at his Holiday Inn Express & Suites were booked Sunday and Monday, and he estimates that at least 60-70 of those rooms were occupied by Clemson and Alabama football fans.
And, at the Spring Hill Suites on Primrose Lake Cir. in Tampa Palms, rooms also were packed with football fans, but not the ones general manager Barbara Scott says she initially anticipated.
According to Scott, as many as 25 rooms had been booked months in advance by Ohio State supporters. But, when the Buckeyes were beaten by Clemson 31-0 on New Year’s Eve, those rooms were cancelled.
Most of them, she says, were filled by Clemson fans, the rest by Alabama fans.
Scott said her hotel (which will be undergoing a transformation this summer) was nearly sold out on Sunday, the day before the game, but all 127 suites were filled Monday night, with 50 percent of those bookings by football visitors.
“Was it lucrative? Yes,’’ Scott says. “Was it as lucrative as we thought, with people booking six months out? No.”
The Clemson fans, Scott said, were a delight. She said the big group took it easy on the breakfast tables of Alabama fans, who had, “their heads in their plates” the morning after the Tigers’ 35-31 victory.
“They (Clemson) are a lovely travel team,’’ Scott says.
The college football championship game was a pleasant economic boost during what can be a slow time for area hotels. This year’s DICK’s Lacrosse Tournament in nearby Wesley Chapel (see pg. 54) had 20 fewer teams than last year, so the usual infusion of visitors for that event didn’t materialize in New Tampa.
But, the Tiger and Tide faithful made up for it.
“2017 is starting out well,’’ said Sandona, who anticipates the success to continue as the Florida Hospital Center Ice hockey facility opens, even though there is another Holiday Inn Express opening directly adjacent to the hotel off S.R. 56. FHCI already has booked almost half of its year with events that are sure to fill more local hotel rooms.
Jackie Ramos, who has been the general manager at the 84-room La Quinta Inn on Doña Michelle Dr. for three years, said that hotel didn’t sell out for the championship game, but hit definitely received a large increase in bookings due to the game.
“We certainly did,’’ she said. “Mostly Clemson fans.”
The Tampa Bay Business Journal said the number of out-of-town visitors for the game was estimated at 75,000-100,000, with more than half of those booking hotel rooms. Southern Hillsborough and Pinellas County, which are closer to the beaches, were expected to receive the lion’s share of that total.
Tampa Bay Sports Commission executive director Rob Higgins estimated that the economic impact to the Tampa Bay area was roughly $300 million.
Last year’s championship game — also played between Alabama and Clemson — was played at the University of Phoenix Stadium and, according to Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business, generated $273.6-million from out-of-state visitors. That was the highest total ever reported for a national championship game.
Scott says Tampa came off great on television and seemed to be a hit with visitors, adding that measuring the success of the event by that standard reaps more benefits than the final financial figures. “The success can not be tethered to dollars,’’ said Scott, who has been with the SpringHill Suites since 2013. “We got some great press, and these things help put (Tampa) on the road to being the next great city.”
While final economic impact figures for Tampa Bay aren’t yet available, Sandona says these events definitely provide a boost to local businesses, and not just his own.
He said his staff fielded dozens of inquiries from fans looking for things to do locally, with the most common question being — where are the best restaurants?
“It was great for local restaurants, and it probably had a positive impact on Busch Gardens attendance,” Sandona said. “Most people had already done a lot of research about the events at the (downtown Tampa) RiverWalk near the stadium. And, everyone tries to include a beach day in their trip.”
Sandona has been the general manager at the Holiday Inn Express since 2010 (and before that, also held the position from 2003-07), and has worked through a few Super Bowls, which booked his hotel full for 4-5 days at a time.
Sandona only wishes the event had more staying power. Clemson and Alabama didn’t win their semifinal games until Dec. 31, so fans couldn’t plan too far ahead, creating some special booking process requirements.
And, because the game was held on a Monday night, that meant, at most, only a likely weekend stay.
However, Sandona said it was a friendly, festive crowd that filled his rooms over the weekend. He said even the Alabama fans remained upbeat after the loss, confident their team would return to the championship game next year.
But they don’t win the award for most faithful fan at the hotel.
“One of my favorite interactions was with a Clemson fan who booked his rooms on June 1, 2016,’’ Sandona says. “I spoke to him a week before the game and told him he gets my ‘Boatload of Faith’ award. He told me he just figured the best thing to do was stay positive.”
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