The Rhode Island Sports Commission is seeing a $12 million boost in sales for hotel rooms, visitors, and the state economy as a whole in the first three months of 2024.
The increase is due to 14 events taking place across Rhode Island, including two 15,000-person cheerleading competitions and the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Regionals.
A breakdown of some key events is below:
- 2024 VolleyFest-Providence (Volleyball) – 1739 contract hotel rooms and $1,067,288.28 in estimated economic impact
- 2024 NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Regionals – 751 contract hotel rooms and $823,576.45 in estimated economic impact
- 2024 CCM MLK Invite (Hockey) – 2167 contract hotel rooms and $1,178,601.61 in estimated economic impact
- 2024 Athletic Championships Grand Nationals (Cheer) – 2691 contract hotel rooms and $2,473,543.24 in estimated economic impact
- 2024 Spirit Fest Grand Nationals (Cheer) – 3118 contract hotel rooms and $2,993,618.15 in estimated economic impact
“We are a sports destination, and that’s not just because we have, traditionally, top-ranked teams to root for across major league sports,” said Jonathan Walker, director of sports sales for the Rhode Island Sports Commission. “Providence and Warwick are top picks to host sporting events, national championships, and tournaments – from recreational sports to some of the biggest televised matchups in the NCAA.”
These events will fill hotel rooms, book space in the Providence and Warwick Convention Center, and bring in families nationwide.
“These 14 sports events are bringing in more than half of the total room nights, attendees and estimated direct spend generated by events in Q1,” said Tom Riel, senior vice president of the PWCVB. “And this business spreads far beyond Providence and Warwick, as attendees travel to courts and rinks throughout the state.”
The city says indoor sports, such as cheerleading, volleyball, basketball, and ice hockey, are a much-needed boost to hotel occupancy in Providence and Warwick, helping to compress the market across the state.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.
