LEXINGTON, Ky. — The NCAA Tournament has started but it's not the only basketball championship Kentuckians are following this weekend. KHSAA's Sweet 16 boys basketball championship is taking place at Rupp Arena through Saturday.
Last weekend was the girls’ state championship, and these two weekends combined bring in almost $8-$9 million in tourism revenue for the hospitality business.
Jim Sawyer, owner of Sawyer’s Downtown Bar and Grill, said the biggest stage in high school basketball means big business for his establishment.
“My favorite week of every single year,” Sawyer said.
He’s has owned Sawyer’s Downtown Bar and Grill since 1985. He and his staff see a steady flow of customers coming in for nearly five days.
“They start coming in on Tuesday night, games start on Wednesday and we’re crazy a little bit at lunch and really a lot in the middle of the day and everything until the final round they all come in until about 7:00,” Sawyer explained.
Sawyer has been in their current location downtown since October and is in the heart of Lexington.
“This location is incredibly good. It’s right in the smack dab center of downtown, between the two courthouses, right next to two wonderful hotels,” Sawyer said.
Speaking of hotels, Martina Barksdale with Visit LEX said hotels have been nearly booked the last two weekends.
“We used to have what we call busy seasons here, and that surrounded Keeneland which is April and October, but how Lexington is growing and the events that are coming here and the events that have been for a long time we’re seeing an increase in bookings every single year,” Barksdale said.
Barksdale said the tournaments provide a much-needed boost to the hospitality industry, which continues to recover financially from COVID-19 closures.
“The pandemic was so rough on everyone and so we’re able to see this economic, tourism bounce back and Kentucky has been one of the leaders in that bounce back,” Barksdale said.
Sawyer said some players, fans and parents have made his restaurant a March tradition between tip-offs.
“I’ll get emails from people three weeks out saying, ‘I’m coming, I’m coming,’” Sawyer said. “In the four days of high school Sweet 16, we’ll do more than UK basketball season games combined.”
Due to the increase of people downtown, the Lexington Police Department is reminding people to be cautious of extra car and people traffic. They encourage anyone traveling through the area to allow extra time to reach their destination.