Saturday, April 17, 2004
Merchants hope the Indians pick up where the Cavaliers left off.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- LeBron James scored big for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season. He scored even bigger for area businesses who were banking on the team's rebirth.
"We had a great basketball season. It was awesome. I think LeBron and the team exceeded expectations," said Christine Connell, general manager of Flannery's, an Irish pub just footsteps from the Cavaliers' home arena.
"Of course, we're disappointed they didn't make the playoffs, but it was an awesome season. Most game nights, the seats in here were packed," she said.
As they have all season, fans with open wallets flocked to the city last Monday as the Cavaliers played their last home game of the season, and the Indians opened their first home stand.
Good for everyone
Street vendors sold Tribe T-shirts, hats, banners and other merchandise. Parking lots rented spots for $20, and the Regional Transit Authority promoted public transportation as traffic packed downtown streets well before the typical rush hour.
Flannery's was packed all day, starting at 10 a.m. when fans waiting for the 3:05 p.m. baseball opener and the 7 p.m. basketball closer hit the bar.
Business was also booming a few blocks down at Fat Fish Blue, a Cajun restaurant known for live blues music.
The restaurant also thanked the Indians and Cavaliers, who improved from the league's worst team last year to a playoff contender behind James, who led the Cavaliers with 21 points per game.
"We are more than excited about it," said manager Tessa Lurwick. "We absolutely love the events that go on down here because of what it brings in for us."
That type of draw is exactly what developers had in mind when they opened the $450 million Gateway sports complex a decade ago. The 10-block area that had six restaurants 10 years ago now has 40. Stores fill once-abandoned buildings, and hotels have been built or redeveloped.
"Today, the neighborhood is alive," said Tom Yablonsky, executive director of Historic Gateway Neighborhood, the organization that oversees the district.
Counting on baseball
Businesses hope that life will be sustained during baseball season.
Walk-in business on Cavaliers game days was up about 5 percent at the Peterson Nut Co. retail store at the edge of the Gateway district, said Gail Jarowski, retail operations manager.
On Indians game days, foot traffic in the store typically increases 25 percent to 30 percent or more. Fewer sellouts last year meant the store closed earlier, and street vendors who sometimes sell 7,000 bags of nuts a game went home earlier, she said.
"We've got to get our Indians winning," she said. "When the Indians are doing well, selling out, everyone benefits."
This season has been no small peanuts for the Cavaliers, who also have profited since James' arrival.
A year ago, the Cavaliers had the NBA's worst average attendance -- 11,222 per game -- and sold less merchandise than any other team in the league.
This season, there's been a 62 percent increase in home attendance to an average of 18,231 a game. The Gund sold out 16 times, including the Cavs' Monday night win over the Milwaukee Bucks, 93-89. There were only two sellouts last season.
James' No. 23 jersey is the NBA's top seller, with more than 1.5 million sold nationwide since June 26, according to SportsScanInfo, a sports retail tracking firm.
The Cavaliers, who plan to raise ticket prices next season, thanked their fans for this season's turnaround by giving away nearly $230,000 in merchandise at the game against Milwaukee.