Fresno hopes NCAA women’s tournament a boon second time around

Sports fans from around the country will look to Fresno this weekend as four of the nation’s top women’s basketball teams go head-to-head in the Women’s NCAA Tournament at the Save Mart Center.

The Fresno Regional will determine one of the teams for the Final Four in Denver and has the potential to bring an influx of cash to local hotels and restaurants if fans flock to the games.

But will they?

The last time the Save Mart Center hosted the Fresno Regional in 2007, three games totaled 6,704 in attendance — one of the lowest turnouts in tournament history.

This time around, four of the top five-seeded teams play here tonight: No. 2 Duke vs. No. 3 St. John’s, followed by No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 5 South Carolina. The winners of those games will play each other Monday.

No one knows how many people will show up. As of midday Friday, 3,000 tickets had been sold, the NCAA said. The organization expects a lot of last-minute ticket buying and others expect plenty of Stanford fans to drive to Fresno.

Some local businesses already are raking in big bucks, especially the hotels hosting the teams. Nearby restaurants are prepared for packed houses.

Some call the tournament a win no matter how many people show up, including Layla Forstedt, executive director of the Fresno/Clovis Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“The media attention is wonderful,” she said. “It puts us on the map as a destination … for sports, for conventions, for meetings. We want to be at the top of the mind of everyone that we can handle these big events.”

Stanford is expected to bring the biggest out-of-town contingent to the tournament because the school is so close, about a three-hour drive away.

“Any time we can put a California school in this regional, in the Sweet Sixteen, it’s key to the success of the overall tournament,” said Paul Ladwig, Fresno State’s senior associate athletic director.

Stanford is a perennial women’s basketball power — part of the reason that the previous regional in Fresno was such a downer was the Cardinal’s early exit from the tournament in 2007, marking the only time since 2004 that Stanford has failed to advance to the Regional final.

That kind of success breeds support.

“Their fans travel,” said Heather Burns, deputy editor at espnW.com, the media giant’s website devoted to women’s sports. “It should be pretty full.”

With a “hard-core” fan base and well-organized booster and alumni groups, the Stanford women average about 4,000 fans at home games, said Aaron Juarez, Stanford’s assistant director of athletic communications. He expects at least 1,000 Stanford fans to make the drive to Fresno.

The tournament is already a big economic boon for hotels hosting teams, including the Piccadilly Inn Airport.

The 185-room hotel is about 80% booked with the team and other visitors from Duke. General manager Paul Hill said he can’t fill up the hotel because the NCAA requires rooms be set aside for overflow VIPs.

The hotel’s three restaurant venues — the Steak & Anchor Restaurant, breakfast service and a bar — also will bring in money over the next few days. Hill estimated the hotel will make $8,000 to $10,000 a day, as long as the team is in the tournament.

Because some fans will stick around for the Monday night game, the timing should bring a boost to local businesses as people spend Sunday going to restaurants, shopping and visiting places such as Yosemite National Park, Ladwig said.

“It helps that people will stay more than just one night,” said Lori Lascola, general manager of the Park Inn by Radisson, formerly the Four Points by Sheraton hotel, at Blackstone and Dakota avenues. The hotel is getting plenty of bookings, though she wouldn’t say how many.

Restaurants near the Save Mart Center expect full houses all weekend.

Stanford has booked the patio at Dog House Grill on Shaw Avenue for today, with at least 175 people coming, said the restaurant’s general manager, Matt Billingsley.

At nearby Buffalo Wild Wings, general manager Randy Hurst said any large Save Mart Center event, such as monster truck shows or the Tim McGraw concert, bring a significant boost.

The restaurant adds 10 to 15 extra people on those nights, putting more money in the local economy. It will beef up staffing tonight and Monday night too, he said.

But not everyone is sharing in the good news. Some hotels say they aren’t getting any business from the tournament yet. Distance may prevent some fans from making the trek to Fresno, with three of the teams coming from the East Coast.

On Thursday, Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites in Clovis didn’t have any bookings from the tournament, general manager Amy Overton said.

Bookings at the Ramada University Hotel, three miles away from the Save Mart Center, were running below normal Thursday for the weekend, sales director Matt Delgado said.

But people often wait to the last minute to decide to attend an event, and he was expecting walk-ins.

“Usually we get a ton of overflow from big events such as this,” he said. “Walk-ins, that’s what I am looking forward to.”

The Fresno/Clovis area has so many hotel rooms — 10,000 — that out-of-towners could spread out.

And even though the 2007 tournament brought in so few people, that might not be a good indicator of what will happen this weekend.

Fresno State is more on the ball when it comes to getting the word out this time, said Tony D’addato, “Tony D,” who hosts the SportsLine show on KYNO (AM 940).

And interest in women’s basketball has grown since 2007.

“Attendance is way up,” said Burns of espnW.com. “They sell out the Final Four every year.”

A big portion of attendance numbers may hinge on how many Fresnans show up for the games, D’addato said.

The area is great about supporting Fresno teams, but it doesn’t always show up for local sporting events that don’t feature a Fresno team, he said.

“Will the fan base here … come out just to watch good basketball?” he asked. “This is a good litmus test to see how much the fan base has matured from ’07 to now.”

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Tickets

All-session passes are $50 for adults, $25 for students and youth 17 and younger; $40 for a group (10 or more); and $99 for the family plan (two adult/two youth tickets).

Single-session tickets $29 for adult, $14 for youths and students; and $21 for a group (10 or more).

Tickets are available online at go-bulldogs.com and ticketmaster.com, by calling (559) 278-3647 or (800) 745-3000, and at the Bulldog Ticket Office or Save Mart Center Box Office.

By Bethany Clough