Providence reaping economic benefits of World Series

October 24, 2018 1:39 pm

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – You won’t be able to hear the World Series excitement at Fenway Park from Providence, but you’ll feel the impact. That’s because some World Series goers are staying downtown.

“[The] MLB needed some rooms and they came out as far as Providence and we’ve got 180 rooms booked in the city for two nights,” said RI Sports Commission Executive Director John Gibbons.

We can’t say WHICH hotel, although in the past, professional sports teams have stayed at the Omni.

Just in hotel costs, the World Series has brought in over $100,000, but it doesn’t stop there.

“On average you can pretty much figure that one person will spend at least $70 a day in food and beverage,” Gibbons said.

And even though people coming into Providence will be heading up to Boston for the big games, they’re still creating extra revenue here that hotels, restaurants, and the state didn’t plan for.

“When something just literally falls into your lap because the Red Sox are hosting the World Series and because Boston didn’t have availability…it’s nice when something like this happens,” he said.

Local businesses, like Murphy’s Pub, welcome the extra boost. Owner Louis Ferrazzano says they’re expecting a bigger crowd over the next couple of days.

“Usually we’ll get a lot of people wearing their jerseys coming having some fun having some drinks before they head up. Anything we can get we appreciate.”