Denver Opens Arms, Cash Registers, to NCAA’s Final 4

For the four college basketball teams that survived the far-flung and grueling NCAA regional tournaments, the road stops here, and the city hopes the bucks--up to 25 million of them--stop here too.

The most optimistic projections by the Greater Denver Chamber of Commerce and the Denver Organizing Committee are that the 20,000 fans, players, coaches, reporters and tourists will spend $25 million when the Final Four Basketball Tournament comes to town Saturday through Monday.

Even the most pessimistic prediction, from the International Assn. of Convention and Visitors Bureaus, estimates that at least $17 million will be infused into the local economy.

“It will be the biggest hotel weekend in the eight years I’ve been doing business here,” said Harold Levin, general manager of the Executive Tower Inn in downtown Denver. “These people aren’t ordinary consumers. They’re not rate-conscious like a lot of people who come in for conventions. They’ll spend more money than any other group in a very long time.”

Organizing committee officials say nearly 90% of downtown Denver’s 16,000 hotel rooms are booked for the tournament. Usually at this time of year hotels are only half full.

Over the course of the tournament, hotels will pull in about $12 million, the organizing committee said. Cabs, limousines, buses and rental cars could receive as much as $1.4 million and retail sales along the 16th Street Mall could jump as much as 20%.

City officials, supported by an army of volunteers--most of whom won’t get to see any of the basketball action--are doing their best to make sure the visitors get a good impression of the Mile High City.

The volunteers range from a former U.S. President, Gerald R. Ford, to high school students. Ford is one of several honorary committeemen, along with Gov. Roy Romer, Denver Mayor Federico Pena and University of Colorado President Gordon Gee.

Tournament games will be held at McNichols Arena, which holds about 17,000 fans. This year’s tournament will be the last NCAA Final Four tournament to be held in a small arena for a while. Next year’s March Madness will be held in the Hoosierdome in Indianapolis, and New Orleans will play host in 1992.

Three conventions also will be in town: the National Assn. of Basketball Coaches, the National Assn. of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and the U.S. Basketball Writers Assn.