Though the hoots, hollers and harangues of NCAA basketball fans have quieted down now that the Regional Tournament has left town, one soft, swishing noise is left echoing in its wake.

That would be the sound of money-and lots of it-being counted, stacked and safely stored by hundreds of Syracuse business owners.

In addition to hoards of Wisconsin and North Carolina-decked fans, the tournament brought with it an estimated $20 to $25 million dollar impact on local economy, according to projections based on an NCAA study of the impact on Regional Tournament sites, said Doug Small, president of the Syracuse Convention and Visitors Bureau.

‘Based on hotel stays and reports from merchants throughout Armory Square and other areas, we feel it was a resounding success as it relates to new income and revenue for the community ,’ Small said.

While no definite numbers are available already, past studies by the CVB showed 18,000 people spent nearly $9 million on hotel stays, including food, drinks and other necessary amenities, Small said.

This year’s hotel patrons were just as ready to dive into all the facilities had to offer.

‘It was very live here,’ said Jason Fulton, director of sales and marketing at the University of Wisconsin’s home-away-from-home, the Genesee Grande Hotel. All aspects of the hotel-from rooms to restaurants and the hotel’s own guests-only movie theatre-were full, he said.

While $25 million, or even a mere $9 million is hardly pocket change for the community, the tournament has the potential to have legs in the community.

‘We hope it goes beyond basketball,’ Small said. ‘ … That word spreads that this community can host large events and do so successfully.’

Perhaps that word will start with the Genesee’s guests, who gave the hotel straight As, Fulton said. Many said they were happy about being here and hoped to come back to Syracuse again.

Among visitors to campus this weekend who may be back again for a more extended trip were the approximately 600 high school students who toured the campus on Friday and Saturday.

The influx of potential new Syracuse students was not as much an attribute of the increased attention from the tournament, but rather the typical deluge of students on Easter break, said David Smith, SU’s vice president of enrollment, who was still looking at wall-to-wall students waiting for tours Monday.

‘That doesn’t tend to be driven too much by sports stuff, but it can be related and of course its fun to be a place where there’s lots of activity,’ Smith said.

While the national spotlight on the Carrier Dome may have sent out a three-day advertisement for the city, from Smith’s comments, it seems the tournament was just a hand-off back to the show.

‘It’s just one more reason to be fond of SU,’ Smith said. ‘We think of it as one reason among a lot of reasons that someone might notice us, and normally that’s what the sports involvement does.’

Published on March 28, 2005 at 12:00 pm