Dennis Roche, who heads the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland, says when the Cavs were in the NBA finals a few months back, $11 million poured into the local economy each night the game was in town. Now, with the Major League Baseball playoffs coming up, Roche is predicting another big boon for the city.
Roche estimates the local economy will get a $5.4 million boost each game. And, he says that's a conservative number.
Dennis Roche: I would be very surprised if it wasn't double the number I gave you.
The estimate only takes into account people parking, drinking, and going to the games. And, not, say, those funneling into area bars to see the Indians on a TV.
While the millions of extra dollars are nice, Roche concedes the economic impact is only temporary, but there can be less obvious benefits.
Dennis Roche: It greatly promotes this as a destination, as a place to visit, as a place that's exciting. It's very difficult to put a value on that, but it's very significant.
Roche says 800,000 more people than last year have visited the Cleveland area this year. He believes the NBA finals, and now the baseball playoffs, is a big reason why.