Pacquiao-Mayweather: Sacramento Bars, Restaurants Balk At High Cost To Show Fight
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — With the fight of the century only a day away, Sacramento bars and restaurants are balking at the high fees for the bout.
The fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather is selling for $90 on pay-per-view. The price jumps to thousands of dollars for bars and restaurants wanting to show it.
Alley Kats is one of the few local businesses that will show the fight. Barwest is another one, and it's charging $30 a head to offset the cost.
"It's going to be crazy. Luckily, we have tons of tvs upstairs downstairs outside, to accommodate the crowd and it's going to be a crazy weekend," said Barwest bartender Amber Padilla.
She says they are paying around $8,000 to show the fight, but management thinks it will be worth it to bring people in.
"I think it's also about getting our name out there, and bringing business back hopefully after the fights," she said.
That business plan may work for largest bars like Barwest that can fit around 200 people, but smaller venues like Chargin's Bar and Grill don't think the high price tag is worth it.
Geoff Chargin says for businesses, the cost to show the fight is based on the seating occupancy and estimated number of viewers. His bar would have cost him $3,100 to show the fight.
"If you have 60 people, let's say, you really can't," he said. "It would have to be $50 each to justify that cost."
He says he didn't want to displace regulars.
That's something Firestone Public House general manager Marc Nuevo agrees with, especially since he's found a lot of his customers plan to watch it at home.
"Not everyone is interested in a huge crowd to watch this fight because it's so big, and they want to watch every detail," he said.
