OMG, Butler is in the Final Four, so a hometown team will get to compete on national TV! This is just so cool! It's like Hoosiers! The underdog Cinderella team will give us all a reason to hope for a brighter tomorrow and . . . but wait a sec.:
Having a hometown team play in the Final Four has Indianapolis buzzing, but Butler's remarkable run — and the proximity of two other competitors — could hurt the bottom line from one of the NCAA's biggest events.
Civic leaders and the NCAA say they expect the tournament to pour more than $50 million into the local economy, but economists say the city shouldn't bank on it just yet. The Butler campus is just seven miles from Lucas Oil Stadium, where the games will be played, and Michigan State and West Virginia are less than seven hours away by car.
"The whole key to economic impact is getting people to stay overnight. Once that goes away, then you lose that hotel stay, you lose that dinner and breakfast exposure," said Daniel Rascher, president of California-based SportsEconomics, which has studied the economic impact of four Final Four tournaments.
Damn those selfish Butler Bulldogs! Why didn't they have the decency to lose to Kansas State and give the poor folks in the tourism industry a break? Tric
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Leo - You and I know that "this economic development" is largely a big sham no matter what reason is given. Witness our Grand Wayne Center - a drain on taxes to the tune of 60% of it's operating budget - and then a large chunk of this tax revenue going to the "economic development???" of an unnecessary new hotel being built by 85% "out-of-Allen County" contractors! Real great for our local economy!