Word: finals
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...timing could not be more ideal. Days after President Obama fired the CEO of General Motors, and instructed GM and Chrysler to fix up fast or drive headlong into bankruptcy, college basketball's annual bonanza, the Final Four, has arrived in the Motor City to provide a much-needed distraction. What's even sweeter: Michigan State University, located just 90 miles west of Detroit in East Lansing, made the national semifinals this year, giving the locals more reason to cheer (unless, of course, they bleed the University of Michigan's maize and blue and wouldn't dare root...
...days, more importantly, the Final Four will jolt the local economy. Thousands of fans have flocked to Detroit for the big games, and they'll spend money in the city's downtown hotels, restaurants, bars and retail shops. The games are being played at Ford Field, the downtown home of the Detroit Lions, which will seat some 70,000 fans. Fan-festivals and free concerts throughout the weekend will also draw visitors downtown. The NCAA anticipates that the Final Four will generate anywhere between $30 million and $50 million in new direct spending for the ailing area. (Hear Dick Vitale...
...bonanza, frankly," says Smith College sports economist Andrew Zimbalist, who predicts an economic impact of about $15 million. "It's kind of silly to suggest that it is." Festive fans of North Carolina, the University of Connecticut, and Villanova University - the other three teams that made the Final Four - will likely have a nice time in spruced-up Detroit. But it's a stretch, Zimbalist says, to figure they'll suddenly think of Detroit as a repeat destination - and even more of a stretch to hope that television viewers will be impressed. "People aren't going to sit there...
...Some of this year's Final Four spending won't even stay in the country. More than half of the several thousand college basketball coaches who flock to the Final Four for their annual convention will be lodging across the river - and border - in Windsor, Ontario. Don't underestimate the financial clout of the coaches, who wander around the host city in their schools' sweat suits (Look, there goes Coach K from Duke! And over there, an assistant coach from Le Moyne!), angling for job gossip and drinking lots of beer. We're talking buckets of beer. And since both...
...towners also means less spending at the airport and on transportation (cabs, rental cars, and so on). Also, it's safe to assume that a portion of the Michigan State basketball fan base would have spent money in Detroit even if the team had not made the Final Four. The event is a huge draw for hoop-heads who just want to soak in the festivities. Many Lansing residents and other Michigan State basketball fans from outside of Detroit would have made the trip and maybe even gone to the game, regardless...