United Center Host NCAA Sweet 16 creating opportunities for businesses
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The United Center is hosting the NCAA tournament for the first time in years.
CBS 2's Jackie Kostek takes us there for all the excitement.
Doors opened at the United Center for the Sweet 16 matchups. Number one-seed Kansas taking on 4-seed Providence followed by Iowa State and Miami. This is the first time since 2016 Chicago has played host to any part of March Madness and as the city continues to recover from the pandemic, the big dance means a big opportunity for bars, restaurants, hotels, and fans.
"It's an energy and that energy just builds and builds and builds and spreads and everyone's happy again."
That energy starts with the fans...
"You run into a Jayhawks fan and even if you're having a bad day, they're like "yeah!" and you're just like, okay my day went from bad to amazing."
And after two fairly bad years of business, Ashley Mixon, a manager at Kincade's says watch parties help with the bottom line.
"If it's really good, like 50 grand," she said.
The same goes for hotels.
"I walked through multiple hotels this week and the level of activity is something I haven't seen in two years."
Michael Jacobson of the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association says while Chicago still remains dead last when it comes to hotel occupancy in major cities, numbers have been trending in the right direction - hitting near 58 percent capacity the week of St. Patrick's Day compared to just over 70 percent in 2019.
"Each week we're seeing numbers get better and better, especially as we go into the spring, then of course we can't wait until the summer," he said.
But the true ride or die college basketball fans aren't thinking about summer right now. They're savoring how sweet it is to still be dancing.
"We were happy to be in the tournament, let alone win two games so we might as well just keep winning," said Patrick Mueller, Iowa State Alumni Association.
Getting to this point in the tournament is extra sweet for those Iowa State fans after their Cyclones won only two games last season.
