The Bruins [team stats]’ overtime playoff win against the Capitals on Thursday marked the start of a week-long sportsapalooza for Boston fans and a big run on the registers for Hub businesses.
The Sox home opener Friday marked the start of a nine-game homestand; the B’s battled the Capitals at TD Garden again yesterday; Celtics [team stats] fans are gearing up for playoff action with a game Wednesday; and runners and spectators will hit the streets tomorrow for the Boston Marathon.
“It’s amazing what’s happening this weekend,” said Pat Moscaritolo, CEO of the Greater Boston Convention Visitors Bureau. “It’s a great weekend for the visitor economy.”
And the boost comes on the heels of a great start to the year, with first-quarter visitor revenue up 8.5 percent from last year.
In addition to the marathon generating an estimated $137.5 million in spending, each Sox game adds $1.1 million to $1.3 million, and Bruins playoff games add another approximately $1 million each. Celts fans, meanwhile, will hit the bars to catch the team on TV.
“We are super excited about this weekend,” said Shannon Finks, marketing and business development director at McGreevy’s, a pub on Boylston Street, home stretch for the marathon. “The combination of the great weather that we’re going to have this weekend and all the excitement about Boston sports in general … only helps people want to go out and have a good time.”
For Jerry Maffeo of Martini’s Souvenir Shop on Hanover Street in the North End the weekend marks the end of business in the red.
“I’m on the 50-yard line by Mike’s Pastries and this is when my business really starts cooking,” he said. “When Paul Revere rides on Monday, I know I’m on my way to getting my money back. You can’t even walk on the sidewalks in the North End. … Everyone has to have their pasta.”
With the hockey playoffs under way, it’s a “whole other level of busy for restaurants, because people make a huge night out of it,” said Philip Frattaroli, owner of Ducali Pizzeria on Causeway Street, who expected receipts to increase 30 percent over regular-season games. “We love this kind of weekend in Boston because of the civic pride of the playoff games and the marathon.”
A mild winter already has propped up local restaurants, with business in the last eight months about 3.5 percent ahead of the previous year based on state meals tax collections and food cost inflation, according to Peter Christie, CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association.
“This is just going to be a great weekend for restaurants,” he said. “Everybody loves heads on beds. When hotels are full, the guests all go out to eat and see the city.”