12C
HOMECOMING SECTION
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2008
BUSINESS
The buck stops in Lawrence
Homecoming brings back alumni, and their money for the weekend
BY NORA SIMON nsimon@kansan.com
Nothing, it seems, adds more to the Lawrence economy and atmosphere than thousands of extra people who flock to the University for game day weekends
Football and basketball weekends in lawrence are considered "million-dollar weekends,"
ceeds, the more business it brings",
said Chuck Warner, interim president and CEO of the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. "It's very beneficial for the town."
"The more the football team succeeds,the more business it brings."
said Judy Billings, director of the Lawrence Convention and Visitors Bureau. Homecoming weekend especially boosts revenue for local businesses.
CHUCK WARNER
CEO of the Lawrence
Chamber of Commerce
"The more the football team suc-
Businesses across town must adjust to accommodate the large numbers of fans coming to see the Jayhawks play for homecoming weekend.
T he Eldridge Hotel,
701 Massachusetts St, sells out its 48 suites as soon as the football schedule for the next year appears.
"We could sell another hundred rooms, if we had them," said Nancy Longhurst, the hotel's general man.
ager.
The hotel's restaurant, TEN,
requires more staff members for
football weekends, when business is
up 20 to 30 percent. The restaurant
tries to draw in business by offering
a jayhawk-themed Sunday brunch
to celebrate the jayhawks' win.
"Our restaurant business will probably benefit the most because so many come in and eat in our restaurant and bar" Longhurst said. "And they're all happy to be back, and that's a fun time for us."
Most hotels completely sell out long before game day arrives. Baymont Inn & Suites, 740 Iowa St., has been sold out for game day weekends since May this year.
"We're booked solid for every home game that we have," Peggy Williams, general manager, said. "Because of our being located the distance that we are, everyone comes
back here, KU is great for our business."
Free State Brewery, 636 Massachusetts St., adds more employees for home game weekends and adjusts the timing of staff members to make sure the restaurant can accommodate a full house, restaurant manager Alex Hamilton said. Homecoming weekend brings back alumni and generates more business, Hamilton said.
"If they're going to come to a football game, they're going to come to homecoming," Hamilton said. "I think that benefits the whole town. Just for us personally, it's not only good for business, but we get to see people we don't normally see come back from out of state."
Homecoming, and any game day weekend, adds work to any restaurant's staff. At the Salty Iguana, 4931 W. 6th St., more liquor and food is
purchased, and the restaurant offers a special game day menu, among other special deals. More people in town means good things for businesses, general manager LeAnn Brook said.
"It just brings people town, the more the merrier," Brock said. "That's what it takes for businesses to thrive. Any reason to bring people into this location, it's going to help."
"If they're going to come to a football game, they're going to come to homecoming."
"It's fun," Hamilton said. "People are in a good mood. People are jovial, especially when KU is doing well. People are just more upbeat and positive."
ALEX HAMILTON Free State Brewery manager
Not only the boost to business, but also the atmosphere generated during these game day weekends makes businesses happy to be open and to see people come back to town.
The traffic that KU athletics brings to Lawrence helps the local community thrive, Warner said.
is here," Warner said. "When the football and basketball programs draw as big of crowds as they have been, it really adds to the economy and making Lawrence the fun place it is to live and work."
"The businesses in Lawrence are so lucky that the University
Then and now BY ANDREA BLACK
WHAT WERE SOME OF THE BIGGEST HEADLINES YOU SAW WHILE YOU WERE AT KU?
BY ANDREA BLACK
BILL SALOME 1952 graduate from Wichita. He currently lives in Law-
"In 1952 the basketball team won the National Championship and seven of the players went to the Olympics. Also, the Korean Conflict started and that included all of us."
MATT ROGERS Wichita senior
"It would have to be winning the 2008 National Championship. I was sitting at my buddy's house watching the game with my face in my hands thinking that we are going to have to wait another 10 years for this when Mario Chalmers hit the shot."
WHAT IS ONE THING THAT EVERY PERSON SHOULD DO BEFORE GRADUATION?
MARILYN DRISCOLL 1963 graduate from Wichita. She currently lives in Mission Woods
"There wasn't one thing to do, but everybody had to take Western Civ and do the English proficiency exam, which was a few hours of writing that evaluated your spelling, grammar and how well you put ideas together. Many, many people failed."
RACHAEL BEAUMONT
Lawrence senior "Everyone should see a KU theater production. I'm involved in theater, and it's a joy going to the theater and enjoying a play."
WHERE DO YOU GO AFTER FOOTBALL GAMES?
LARRY CHANEY 1988 graduate from McPher-
"The Wheel and the Hawk is where most people went — it's been a long standing tradition. I used to also love going to the movies at the Union because they were so cheap and you could take a date out for five bucks, what a deal! They were old movies too. My favorite was when they played the old Hitchcock movies."
PHILLIP REYES
Kansas City, Kan., senior "I used to go to The Crossing but now that that's gone, I have to party at Jet Lag. The Yacht Club is really fun"
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ALLYSON FOWLER Wichita freshman
Liberty, Mo., freshman "My very first memory was about a girl that I met at orientation. We hit it off and spent time together, but little did I know she was a stalker. Now she sporadically calls me and tries to come into my dorm, and it's really stressing me out."
KURTIS WAMSER
"My first memory was when I came here last year to meet with my ROTC scholarship adviser. I was walking down Wescoe beach and the bells went off and I just thought how surreal it was going to be next year to be a Jayhawk."
WHAT IS YOUR FIRST MEMORY OF KU?
KURTIS WAMSER Las Vegas, Nevada, freshman "When I was 9 I went to a basketball game with my dad because he is an alum and it was just really exciting."
KATE NARAMORE Lawrence senior
Lawrence senior "I remember when I was 5 and my brother was 3, my brother was scared of the campanile bells when we were flying kites on the hill, so we had to go home."