The U.S. Olympic Team Trials for men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 gymnastics this weekend could give a significant boost to the St. Louis economy as the region continues to emerge from coronavirus restrictions.
Organizers expect the four-day competition, which starts Thursday at the Dome at America鈥檚 Center, will attract nearly 15,000 people each day to the city鈥檚 downtown. This sporting event is different from a Blues or Cardinals game because many of the attendees will be coming from outside of the region.
鈥淐oming out of COVID where things were shut down for the last 15-16 months, this is a huge shot in the arm for the hospitality industry and all those businesses downtown,鈥� said Chris Roseman, vice president of the St. Louis Sports Commission, which helped .
The 2016 Olympic Trials for women鈥檚 gymnastics in San Jose generated around $20 million, Roseman said. He expects a similar figure for St. Louis this year because the Dome and America鈥檚 Center is also hosting championships for rhythmic, acrobatic, trampoline and tumbling gymnastics and USA Gymnastics鈥� national convention and trade show at the same time as the trials.
鈥淓very square foot of that convention center is going to be filled with gymnastics events,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 going to be thousands of people downtown, not to mention there鈥檚 a Cardinals series that weekend.鈥�
The trials come at a crucial time for those in the region who rely on sporting events for their income, said Patrick Rishe, who directs Washington University鈥檚 sports business program.
鈥淓specially when these one-off events, like gymnastics or the wrestling championships, get delayed, moved or canceled, it鈥檚 like taking away someone鈥檚 bonus because these events don鈥檛 come around every year,鈥� Rishe said.
Across the country during the pandemic, arena and stadium workers lost hundreds of millions of dollars in wages because of canceled or postponed events, he said.
Most of the money coming into St. Louis this weekend will take months to fully circulate into the community. The initial influx may help hospitality-related businesses bridge budget gaps or hire more workers ahead of the later summer months, said Charles Gascon, a regional economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
He also notes the stark reality of the pandemic, which forced many layoffs in the hospitality sector. to .
鈥淒o we actually have the capacity to feed this number of people and put them all in hotels?鈥� Gascon said.
The sports commission hopes to ensure a smooth weekend by communicating the expectations and event schedule to downtown businesses, especially restaurants, Roseman said.
鈥淲hen to staff up, when to expect people coming through their doors 鈥� there鈥檚 not always going to be a noon or six o鈥檆lock dining time,鈥� he said.
The trials also bring less obvious perks for the region, beyond the dollars flowing into St. Louis.
鈥淥ne of the main benefits to these kinds of events is you鈥檙e getting people who maybe didn鈥檛 have St. Louis on their radar,鈥� Gascon said. 鈥淚f someone is coming in for the zoo or a Blues game, they clearly already know what we have to offer.鈥�
He added it鈥檚 difficult to place a dollar value on those kinds of new impressions.
鈥淯ltimately that can build the rapport for the region in ways that are really difficult to do,鈥� Gascon said.
For locals, the trials add to the list of regional amenities that are available throughout the year, Rishe said.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have beaches, we don鈥檛 have mountains, we don鈥檛 have oceans, but we do have the St. Louis Sports Commission that goes out of their way to recruit events to come to our community,鈥� he said. 鈥淓very year we can count on a few one-off events coming to St. Louis.鈥�
Hosting the Olympic trials for both men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 gymnastics has been a major goal for the Sports Commission, which attracted the 2016 men鈥檚 team trials.
鈥淲e鈥檝e always wanted to host this event,鈥� Roseman said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 know if we鈥檒l ever get the chance again.鈥�
The trials this year also help maintain the city鈥檚 connection to the global sporting event, which St. Louis hosted in 1904.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been over 100 years since we hosted the Olympics and odds are we won鈥檛 be hosting ever again,鈥� Rishe said.
But leaning into that heritage increases the city鈥檚 chances of having other Olympic sporting events, like the 2024 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials, which , he said.
鈥淏ecause St. Louis has done a good job of hosting in the past, pragmatically, we鈥檙e more likely to host these events in the future,鈥� Rishe said.
Eric Schmid covers the Metro East for 漏 2024 外网天堂 as part of the journalism grant program: , an initiative of The GroundTruth Project.
