BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) Big crowds and big fun highlighted the weekend in Buffalo for the first time in two years as evidenced by the NCAA men's basketball tournament and the return of the St. Patrick's Day parade in Buffalo. "The community really came together," boasted Patrick Kaler on WBEN Monday morning.
"It was a fantastic weekend. Everything fell into place as we had hoped and planned," said the President of Visit Buffalo Niagara. "All of our out of town visitors had a great experience in Buffalo this past weekend."
Sixty degree weather on Thursday and Friday was a bonus and visitors got a chance to smell Lucky Charms being made nearby by cereal maker General Mills. "A great selling point," added Kaler.
Buffalo has hosted the first and second round action for the March Madness tournament seven times before, but there was extra attention this time, as the tourney was one of the first big events out of the pandemic.
"Our restaurants and our breweries, residents and volunteers welcomed and embraced all of the people who came into our community," said Kaler.
It translated into a pretty good economic impact as well. A preliminary figure of 7.5 million dollars. "We'll be tracking the hotel stays later this week and next month we'll look at bed tax and sales tax receipts," he added.
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When it comes to attracting more of these events in the future, Kaler said the tournament will be back in 2026. By that time, he said there will be even more development at Canalside, Albright Knox expansion will be complete, and there will be more restaurants and nightlife.
"We submit a collective bid to the NCAA for many tournaments. We're about to start working on the next cycle which will go through 2032," he said.
What's on Kaler's radar? "In the world of esports, many of our colleges and universities have esports teams. Some cities have converted older buildings, such as convention centers, into esports arenas. That's something that Kaler said they would consider after securing a new convention center in Buffalo.
He called it is a growing market and something that is on the horizon.
Another event that Kaler would like to secure is the Women's Final Four college basketball tournament. "In speaking with the head of the MAAC conference, I learned we're very close to being able to submit a bid for that
and bring it to Buffalo."
Kaler explained that the reason Buffalo enjoys hosting the men's first and second round NCAA games, is because you get eight different teams that come into the community over a longer period. It's a better economic impact than hosting games for the Sweet 16 tournament.
