By Zach Baru
Unfortunately Mark Cuban won't be here to pick up the tab, but the city of Boston is anticipating the rewards to outweigh the costs for Saturday's championship parade. Streets will be packed from the TD Garden all along the parade route to Copley Square, as numerous bars, restaurants, and businesses of all kinds will see huge spikes in sales.
This is much welcomed news to any business along the parade route, as crowds are expected to be enormous given the scheduling of this year's parade. Having it on a Saturday lets the city fully capitalize on the parade's tourism impact. Commuter rail will be offering a special $10 round-trip ticket, and additional subways will be run, both in anticipation of the unusual amount of people expected to try use public transportation.
Not only does public transportation bring in more revenue, the city benefits from the simple promotion of showing what it has to offer. With fans driving from near and far, this parade is more than just a celebration, it's an advertisement for the city. The more people the parade attracts, the potential for future tourism increases.
No official word has been given on what the price tag will be, however whatever that figure is will not be a clear representation of the parade's effect. Even if the costs outweigh those of the Celtics' 2008 championship parade at $360,000, the city will still benefit. Tourism dollars will likely take weeks to be tallied, but one can be sure that it will be a significant impact to the local economy.
Saturday is much more than just a championship parade for the city. It is a unique opportunity to show 1,000,000 spectators everything Boston has to offer. Whether it be local restaurants or shops, or city museums or parks. Saturday will be a chance to generate tourist revenue, but also to potentially generate it for months and years to come.
Zach Baru can be followed on Twitter @zbaru and reached at zachbaru@gmail.com.
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