Tampa scored big with fans of the NCAA Tournament and country singer Kenny Chesney over the past weekend.
Hosting more than 15,000 spectators for Thursday and Saturday basketball games at the St. Pete Times Forum, fans spent an estimated $10 million to $15 million at local hotels, restaurants, stores and attractions.
Hotels all over town were booked solid as college hoops fans flocked in from Kentucky and West Virginia. UCLA's small contingent was dwarfed by followers of the University of Florida, as Gator Nation reigned.
Saturday's pair of games drew 17,771 fans, beating Thursday's day session (14,835) and night games (15,504), said Rob Higgins, executive director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission.
Among the luminaries in attendance was Miami Heat general manager Pat Riley, who played at Kentucky.
At $150 per session, tournament ticket sales were spurred by strong walk-up demand, Higgins told the St. Petersburg Times.
Ticket revenues are not included in tournament fans' $10 million to $15 million spending estimate. Nor does that spending reflect outlays by other weekend visitors, including 10,000 young stage actors who gathered at the adjacent Convention Center.
Chesney was Tampa's biggest single draw on Saturday. By Friday, the latest day for which information was available, more than 45,000 tickets had been sold.
The Saturday evening concert attracted daylong tailgate parties that extended for blocks surrounding Raymond James Stadium.
Across Dale Mabry Highway, Steinbrenner Field hosted another full house for a New York Yankees' game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon.
Gov. Rick Scott was in town for that game, where he threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio attended a Yankees' game on Thursday, took in the NCAA tourney, and came away with feelings as warm as the balmy weekend weather.
"I have really seen tremendous growth in this city, and our ability to handle multiple events in one weekend," said Iorio, who wraps up her term in office this month.
"It made me feel good. If you want something to do, there's always something here," she added.
Bob Buckhorn, a Democrat who hopes to succeed Iorio in Tuesday's mayoral election, sees more good times ahead for Tampa.
"It was great to see downtown packed. My only regret was that Penn State [his alma mater] wasn't here," Buckhorn said. "We do big events as well as anyone in the country."
Buckhorn even feels ecumenical toward Republicans as he says he is looking forward to Tampa hosting the Republican National Convention in 2012. It will be the first national political convention to be held in the city.
Rose Ferlita, Buckhorn's Republican rival, said Tampa's jam-packed weekend showed how tourism and sports are a "big economic engine" for the city.
"These events are fabulous for the economy, and people remember Tampa in a good light. We need to capitalize on that," she added.
Home to four previous Super Bowls, in which fans spend upward of $300 million, Tampa annually hosts 40 to 50 conventions that crack the million-dollar threshold, said Tampa Bay & Co. spokesman Travis Claytor.
Last weekend was one of the bigger draws, said Dianne Jacob, senior vice president for marketing for TBC.
"We've heard a whole lot of joy and excitement expressed by our hotel partners. They haven't seen numbers like this in a long time."
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Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
