Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 4, 1991 TAG: 9103040160
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From staff reports
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Fast service is crucial so that people don't miss the basketball action, said Arrington, vice president for Krisch Hotels, which has the Roanoke Civic Center catering contract.
He is adding 11 concession stands to the Civic Center coliseum's four permanent ones, and he's hiring more than 100 workers rather than the 25 to 30 he normally would use for a similar size crowd.
How many people will be eating, though, and how much food to buy are unknowns influenced by a variety of circumstances, including ticket sales and teams' playing abilities. If the larger teams with the most fans play early and lose, the crowd could dwindle by the finals, Arrington said.
Original projections that the tournament could attract from 9,000 to 11,000 people have been scaled back, but tournament planners still expect the Roanoke Valley area to gain several million dollars worth of business as the host community.
It is estimated that each out-of-town tournament goer will spend at least $150 per day in the area. With 5,800 three-day tickets sold and individual-session tickets scheduled to go on sale Tuesday, officials calculate the tournament crowd could at least bring from $7.5 million to $8 million to Roanoke's motels, restaurants and shops, said Martha Mackey, executive director of Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The bureau reported last week that 16 hotels and motels, representing about 1,200 rooms, were booked to capacity, but 27 motels together still had 849 vacant rooms as the big weekend approached.
There were 125 vacancies at the Days Inn Civic Center, a block from the tournament site.
Wayne Olexa, general manager for the Days Inn Civic Center, said the Memphis State fan club had booked rooms at his place, but canceled after fan response was less than anticipated.
Olexa said that while he was holding the bookings, however, he turned away other room requests. He has lowered his room rates from $75 to $50 a night.
The convention and visitors' bureau had projected that hotel rooms as far away as Rocky Mount, Christiansburg and Covington would be filled, but Mackey said those distant rooms were not needed because reservations for the tournament fell below expectations.
Host hotels for the tournament are the Roanoke Airport Marriott, Sheraton Airport Inn, Patrick Henry Hotel, Comfort Inn Airport, Days Inn Airport, Quality Inn Salem, Sleep Inn and the Holiday Inns South, Civic Center, Salem and Tanglewood.
Downtown Roanoke restaurants, especially those on the City Market, are expected to benefit the most from Metro business, but more than 60 restaurants in the Valley plan to extend their serving hours during the tournament.
The restaurants are expecting late diners because the last game Thursday and Friday nights won't begin until 9:30 p.m. Hungry spectators should be searching for a meal starting as late as 11:30 p.m.
E.C. Warren II, owner of the Roanoker Restaurant who is active in the local industry, said restaurants are hoping for a bonanza in business during the tournament.
He has not extended his own hours, however. He said the Roanoker is six miles from the Civic Center and specializes in family meals.
But Warren said he anticipates good business for breakfast and the pre-game dinner during the Metro weekend.
Eight downtown restaurants-lounges are official "watering holes" for Metro teams and will keep 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. hours.
Thirty downtown businesses are decorating welcome windows for the Metro teams, and several are offering coupons for discounts on purchases as part of a tournament-visitor package.
To make it easy for tournament goers to get downtown to eat and shop, four Valley Metro buses will run continuously from the Civic Center through downtown on an extended schedule from early morning past midnight each day of the tournament. Rides will be free. The service, which is worth some $4,000, is being underwritten by the tournament itself and Downtown Roanoke Inc.
Steve Mancuso, general manager of Valley Metro, said riders should not have to wait more than five minutes for a bus.
Tournament officials are expected early this week, and the teams are to arrive Tuesday and Wednesday.
Separate groups of Memphis State and University of Louisville fans will arrive Thursday morning on two full, 118-seat chartered jets, though their teams will fly regularly scheduled fights.
Arlington-based USAir has been offering special fares for travelers coming to Roanoke from Metro Conference cities, said Mac McCadden, USAir's district sales chief here.
He estimates the airline will bring some 1,500 more passengers into Roanoke for the tournament.
To accommodate travelers eager for rides between the Roanoke Regional Airport and valley hotels, the Roanoke Airport Limousine Service plans to run eight sedans, four 10-person vans and one minibus the day before, during and the day after the tournament.
"We're planning for increased travel during that time," said Bill Roberts, manager of Yellow Cab Co., which operates the limousine service.
The cab company also plans to have 25 cabs available for independent drivers to lease. Customer demand likely will determine how many drivers will choose to work long days, Roberts said.
Information for this story came from business writers Sandra Kelly, George Kegley, Mag Poff and Daniel Howes.
by CNB