Downtown Springfield's Busy Weekends Bring in Tourist Dollars

Some large summer events have drown crowds back to Downtown Springfield, as a recent MassLive article recounts. A recent Ironman Triathlon brought 1,400 competitors and two to three times that many spectators. Many of them stayed locally and lots of them ate locally. A June 3 Pride Parade drew big crowds, as did recent shows by Bruno Mars and Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.Upcoming events, such as Hooplandia at the Big E and a Lego Fan Expo at the Mass Mutual Center in August, are also expected to draw large crowds downtown.How much of an economic impact do these events have and how is it measured? The Visitors and Convention Bureau estimates impacts by gathering data from hotels, bars and restaurants and also analyzes cellphone data to figure it out. The estimate for Ironman is $3-$7 million and Hooplandia is expected to bring in around $5 million.Both of those events are happening for the first time and organizers hope they will both become annual events. If so, they will demonstrate to others that Springfield can handle the crowds and provide entertainment and food for those who come.