Why the Olympic gymnastic trials in San Jose will be boon for the hospitality industry

Enlarge Photo

alexemanuel

When San Jose hosts the U.S. Olympics Gymnastics Trials it will bring major cash to the local hospitality industry.

15 photos

Home of the Day

Sponsor Listing

Nathan Donato-Weinstein

Real Estate Reporter- Silicon Valley Business Journal

Email  |  Twitter

Yesterday, sports and city officials announced that San Jose's SAP Center had landed the 2016 Olympics gymnastics trials. That's exciting news for sports fans, and for hoteliers and surrounding businesses hoping to profit from the added influx of visitors July 8-10.

It's not chump change. In 2012, the U.S. Olympic gymnastic trials (hosted at the then HP Pavilion) pumped $27.9 million into the local economy — that's direct money, not inflated through so-called "multiplier effect."

"From a hotel and restaurant perspective, it has a huge impact," Patricia Ernstrom of the San Jose Sports Authority told me.

Gate attendance in 2012 was 50,000, and officials said they were hoping for another sold-out event this time.

While the city is hosting the women's trials this time around (last year it was women's and men's), it's still a major sporting event on the road to the Rio de Janeiro games, Aug. 5 through Aug. 21.

In addition to the sporting event, U.S. Gymnastics will also have its national conference and trade show at the McEnery San Jose Convention Center.

Landing a high-profile gig like this — again — is a coveted win for economic and sports development officials because it shines a light on the city's abilities to host big events.

"It's a chance to tell the San Jose story and how great it is to come here when we have a national platform," Ernstrom said. "Last time we had more than 100 credentialed media."

The region's hospitality sector is already red-hot, with downtown (and surrounding-area) hotels posting strong occupancy levels. The seven downtown hotels tracked by Team San Jose saw occupancy of 78 percent as of July 2014, the most recent statistics available. That's up from 73 percent in the same month last year.

Nathan Donato-Weinstein covers commercial real estate and transportation for the Silicon Valley Business Journal.