Providence, RI – January 11, 2017 – The Patriots securing home field advantage throughout the playoffs is a huge win for the team and Rhode Island hospitality. Football fans and game day media all come to the Providence area as it is in close proximity and convenience to Gillette Stadium.
“Over the next 14 days, professional, collegiate, and amateur sports will have a major impact on Providence, touching the Dunk, RI Convention Center and the Providence and Warwick hotel community,” notes John Gibbons, executive director of the Rhode Island Sports Commission (RISC). “The playoff game on Saturday will bring plenty of Houston fans and the NFL media to hotels in Providence,” Gibbons confirms.
The Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau (PWCVB), of which RISC is a part, has been promoting Providence as an affordable and convenient option for Houston Texans fans through targeted social media messaging and advertising. Their website GoProvidence.com features a page dedicated to incoming football fans including travel, hotel, and restaurant options.
The hustle and bustle of the holidays might be over but the entire month of January is chock full of major sporting events coming to the Ocean State. The action kicks off with Big East Conference play starting for the Providence Friars basketball at the Dunkin Donuts Center.
Kennedy Memorial Hockey Tournament is the first major event taking place January 13-16 at ice rinks all the way from North Smithfield and Pawtucket, down to Boss Arena at University of Rhode Island (URI). This tournament combines more than 170 youth teams, along with their families and fans for 4,200 room nights and a direct spend impact of $1.7 million.
The following weekend, Athletic Championship cheer competition returns to the RI Convention Center on January 20-22. This year’s “Platinum Level” cheer event will bring in more than 5,000 cheerleaders, coaches, and their families to the downtown area. With more than 2,300 hotel room nights the direct spend impact is just over $2.4 million.
On the last weekend of the month the 19th Annual National Prep School Invitational by NetScouts Basketball brings in 30 teams to play over 3 days. The Invitational is a showcase that will have more than 100 college coaches scouting the athletes. This tournament contracts more than 400 hotel room nights and includes International teams from Czech Republic, Finland and Canada.
“These events add up to a big score for Rhode Island,” confirms Gibbons who notes that the Patriots playoffs along with all of these great sports competitions will have a combined direct spend of $4.1 million in the Rhode Island economy.
The Rhode Island Sports Commission is a division of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau whose mission is to enrich the Rhode Island economy and community through the attraction, promotion and development of sporting events and associated meetings. For more information, visit GoSportsRI.com.
