SPOKANE, Wash. — As the State B basketball tournament wraps up, the Pacific Northwest Qualifier volleyball tournament is moving in this weekend, bringing tens of thousands of people to Spokane from across the country and delivering a significant economic boost to local businesses.
The Pacific Northwest Qualifier alone brings tens of thousands of people to Spokane each year. Visit Spokane expects just under 18,000 people to come to Spokane for the Pacific Northwest Qualifier tournament.
That includes the Pate family, who are visiting from Tumwater for the sixth year in a row for the tournament.
“We like to go to the mall. We like the mall here, it’s a pretty good mall. We like the park. We always find new gluten-free restaurants to try,” said Nicole Pate, visiting with her daughter Mackenzie.
The Spokane Sports Commission says sports tourism accounted for nearly $100 million coming into the local economy last year. The events also generated nearly $8.5 million in tax revenue.
Hotels and restaurants expect to benefit the most from those visitors. Many local restaurants say they look forward to this time of year because entire teams or groups of parents come in to eat.
The Onion sees a 20 to 30 percent increase in sales when events like the Pacific Northwest Qualifier come to town.
“I just think that it’s really exciting what Spokane Sports is bringing to Spokane over the past five or six years and coming even more with the stadium and The Podium and all of these different events,” said Robin Burnhart, managing partner of The Onion.
For restaurants like The Old Spaghetti Factory, the tournaments provide crucial revenue during what is typically their slowest time of year.
“Usually January and February are our slower months, so that’s a really good time to make sure we’re prepped and ready for these teams. Making sure all of our chairs are in order, our equipment is in order and that our staff are prepped and trained for that as well,” said Mandi Bazo, general manager of The Old Spaghetti Factory.
Local restaurants say they often see the same teams and parents come back year after year. The Onion says downtown businesses can struggle to bring in local customers, so these tournaments are vital to their bottom line.
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