Pacific Northwest Qualifiers greeted by Spokane Restaurants
The tournament brings Spokane millions in tourism revenue each year and is one of the first major events to return amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
SPOKANE, Washington. – The Pacific Northwest Qualifier ended its final game day for its first weekend on Sunday, ending its first round of competition after the tournament was canceled in 2020.
VisitSpokane estimates the tournament will generate $ 12 million in tourism revenue in a typical year. The organizers estimate that the tournament – the region’s largest volleyball tournament and Spokane’s largest annual tourism event – has only about half the normal number of teams this year. But even if participation declines, the local restaurants see the tournament as a big win.
“If you [organizers] called me and said they would be in town. We were thrilled to be open and ready for them, “said Chris Lee, general manager of Cosmic Cowboy Grill.” Our official reopening will be May 24th, so this will be great for us and the crew to get going again. “
According to Lee, the Cosmic Cowboy Grill in River Park Square opened just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic last year. Now they only have a few days left to welcome customers back.
They sponsored the tournament last year but with his cancellation this is their first partnership with the event. Lee added that after the struggles local businesses faced last year, events like the PNQ are what the industry needs.
“The main thing is that there are a lot of small businesses in the city center that are struggling to keep the staff and the doors open and we have to keep moving forward and hopefully this will continue and we will make it.” sooner rather than later to phase 4 and back to normal, “said Lee.
The tournament marks the first major event that Spokane has returned. Others like Bloomsday and Hoopfest have yet to go back to their normal personal offerings. This has resulted in restaurants filling reservation lists and hotels booking all of their rooms to accommodate the influx of athletes and their families after a year of COVID-19 restrictions hampering business.
Lee said the resurgence of the tournament is a sign of hope that other events may return this year as restaurants and other businesses hope to see more opportunities bringing large crowds of people downtown.
“That’s why we’re open down here, and if things keep going as they go, hopefully we’ll see a nice crowd,” Lee said. “We’ll be setting up our outdoor patio here shortly, and hopefully the Hoopfest is here on our main door.”
Next weekend there will be three more game days for teams in the Pacific Northwest Qualifier. Seats will be set up in the Spokane Convention Center and Hub Sports Center. This means another weekend of booked hotels and reservations for local restaurants.