PROVIDENCE – From March 29 to 31, hotel business was weaker than Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau officials had hoped, but “March Madness” hockey in downtown still drew fans. It had a seven-figure economic impact. According to PWCVB data, direct spending for the region was $1.9 million when the regional round of the NCAA Division I men's hockey tournament was held at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Additionally, 750 hotel rooms were closed for the hockey tournament, PWCVB CEO and President Kristen Adamo told Providence Business News. A total of 12,823 fans also attended the three NCAA Regional games played at AMP that weekend, said John Diamond, assistant athletic director at Brown University, the NCAA Regional host college. As a result, the Providence region became the most attended NCAA hockey region in the nation, Diamond said. “Ticket sales, before we knew who the participants were, had sold thousands of tickets a few weeks ago,” Diamond said. “A strong contingent from New England and the greater Northeast hockey fan base helped us plan this. [to go to the games]” Diamond also said there are “financial incentives” Brown will receive for hosting the NCAA regionals, but did not provide further details. He also expects the NCAA to be “interested” in hosting a hockey tournament in the city again in the future. The city is scheduled to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament next year. Overall economic results from March 29 to March 31 were somewhat mixed due to multiple factors. Two of the four teams participating in the regional hockey tournament were from New England: Boston University and Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. If more teams based further away from Rhode Island were playing, “that would have helped.” [the hotel numbers] Quite a bit,” said PWCVB Vice-President Thomas Riel. Easter Sunday was also March 31, the day of the regional finals, and Riel said, “There wasn't a lot of temporary leisure that would create compression.”
James Bessette is PBN Special Projects Editor and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors.you can contact him Bessette@PBN.com. You can also follow him on Twitter. @JamesBessette. 
