Draft expected to bring in $10 million.
Rene Nielsen always gets a lot of hockey fans at The Inn-Field bar, down the street from where the Florida Panthers play. But this weekend will be special.
Nielsen, the bar’s co-owner, taped fliers on the walls Wednesday afternoon advertising beer specials during the NHL draft, scheduled Friday and Saturday at the Panthers’ home, the BB&T Center in Sunrise.
NHL executives, coaches, prospective players, fans and reporters all will be in town for one of hockey’s biggest events. The twoday draft is expected to pump about $10 million into Broward County’s economy, from hotel rooms and meals to shopping and visits to attractions.
Organizers expect more than 15,000 fans and 500 members of the media for the internationally televised event.
Sunrise hosted the NHL draft for the first time in 2001.
“I expect it to be more of an event this time around,” Nielsen said. He said his bar sees higher sales during the hockey season as people pour in for dinner before the game and stop back after the game to celebrate victories or to try to forget painful losses.
Nielsen and his wife, Karen, have been running the bar since 1999 but did no special promotions for the draft back in 2001.
He said fewer people lived in the area back then and South Floridians’ interest in the sport wasn’t as strong, either.
“This is pretty advantageous for us,” Nielsen said of the draft. He also hopes the draft will spark interest in people who don’t follow hockey. The more people who are into hockey, the better for his business, he said.
Carol Hudson, vice president of sports development for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, said hockey’s big event “is definitely making a huge economic impact” for the county as a whole.
People are coming in for the draft but staying longer to explore the area, she said.
FAT Village, the arts and tech district in Fort Lauderdale’s Flagler neighborhood, will host Florida Panthers players during Saturday night’s Artwalk. Hockey-themed art pieces, from video to graffiti art, will highlight the history of the Florida Panthers’ and hockey, said Doug McCraw, founder of FAT Village.
Hoteliers couldn’t be happier to have an influx of visitors this time of the year, typically a slower season in South Florida, Hudson said.
“To have an event of this level in June instead of February or March
“It’s a huge economic impact for us.” Gwyn West, director of business travel at Double Tree by Hilton Hotel Sunrise-Sawgrass Mills
… this is a big boost for them,” Hudson said.
The NHL is using the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort as its headquarters and to accommodate league staff, prospective players and some teams, she said.
Besides the immediate financial gains of hosting the NHL, the draft also is creating a lot of publicity for the community, said Blake Crawford, director of sales and marketing for the Westin.
“There’s so much media here,” Crawford said. “I can see the media on the beach filming. They were doing their reporting on the
“We are very happy our site was chosen for the draft. It showcases the area to everyone who watches it. This puts Sunrise on the map.” Gwyn West, director of business travel at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Sunrise-Sawgrass Mills
beach with the ocean as the backdrop. No doubt this is positive PR.”
In addition to the Westin, six other hotels also are hosting teams, said Hudson, the visitors bureau executive.
Gwyn West, director of business travel at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Sunrise-Sawgrass Mills, near the BB&T Center in Sunrise, said the 250-room hotel is sold out and “quite a lot of that business is due to the draft.”
“It’s a huge economic impact for us,” West said. “We are very happy our site was chosen for the draft. It showcases the area to everyone who watches it. This puts Sunrise on the map.”