Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning holds the Stanley Cup in Tampa, Florida., Sept. 30.
Photographer: Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images
At first 2020 seemed like it was shaping up to be a very good year for Denise Williams, chief marketing officer for Hooters Management Corp., which owns 11 restaurants in the Tampa, Florida, area.
In March, she was two days away from a sponsorship at a PGA tournament that included hosting 10,000 guests at a replica of a Hooters restaurant on the golf course. Williams had plenty of other sports promotions planned, including ticket giveaways, watch parties and a weekly radio show with player interviews broadcast from a restaurant. Then the coronarivus struck and shut everything down.
Hooters had to close for seven weeks last spring. When the restaurants reopened, with limited capacity and other restrictions, sales were still weak. Although businesses across the U.S. have suffered a similar fate, the pandemic was particularly exasperating for sports bars in Tampa. That’s because the local teams have had their best year ever.
First the Lightning won hockey’s Stanley Cup in September for only the second time in their 28-year history. Then the Rays made it to baseball’s World Series for just their second time, losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in October. Football’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, rejuvenated by the addition of six-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady as quarterback, have also become a huge attraction. The Bucs face the New Orleans Saints in the NFL playoffs on Sunday.
“It was one hit after another,” Williams said of 2020. “We missed out on all the camaraderie and fun of hosting these events.”
The Tampa Bay area, home to some 3.1 million people, is struggling with the virus and its fallout like other regions. Sales tax revenue in Hillsborough County, where Tampa is based, declined about 10% in fiscal 2020. This year it’s projected to fall 2%, according to the county budget.
Florida shut down its restaurants in mid-March. They were permitted to reopen in May with limited capacity. By September, Governor Ron DeSantis allowed bars to open at full capacity, although business has been slower than pre-pandemic levels.
Mark Ferguson, owner of 29-year-old Ferg’s Sports Bar & Grill in St. Petersburg, said even when the Rays had their bad years, traffic from Tropicana Field just across 1st Avenue kept him busy. Last year, however, the Rays played with cardboard cutouts of fans and the World Series was held in Texas.
But Ferguson adapted. He opened a takeout window and curbside service. He installed hand sanitizer dispensers and air purification equipment. It’s been Ferg’s backyard that has turned into his most valuable player, however.
About half of Ferg’s 84 TVs are positioned outside, where Ferguson also offers a dog park and in good times, ax-throwing competitions. With Covid, he situated tables so small groups could sit together. While business was down about 4% last year, it would have been much worse were it not for the performance of the local teams.
“We’ve been blessed,” he said. “But we’d be a lot more blessed if we had fans at the games.”
https://ift.tt/3im61ox
Sport
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Tampa Finally Enjoys Sports Glory at the Worst Possible Time - Bloomberg"
Post a Comment