It’s that time of year again, when people fill out brackets for the NCAA basketball tournament and gear up for watching hours and hours of sporting events. This year, 37.3 million people will participate in office pools.
With men’s and women’s basketball, hockey, wrestling and other sports wrapping up their seasons during March, it can be a lucrative time for sports bars, but not all bars experience the “March Madness.”
Justin Zavadil, co-owner of Stub & Herbs Drinking and Dining Emporium, said since spring break coincides with the beginning of the men’s NCAA basketball tournament, the bar hasn’t seen an increase in customers.
“I expect business to pick up during the second and third rounds and when students come back from spring break,” he said.
Zavadil said he purchased the NCAA Mega March Madness package from DirecTV so customers can watch all of the games and not just ones broadcast on CBS and ESPN. However, he said the bar isn’t offering any drink or food specials.
Nick Brewer, general manager of The Leaning Tower of Pizza in Stadium Village, said his bar also doesn’t do anything special during March, nor does he see an increase in customers that could be attributed to the increase in sporting events.
He said while the bar is busy during Gopher games, it’s not too substantial.
While basketball isn’t the only sport in tournament time this month, it is the one that gets a lot of attention.
Michael Bartus and Brian Nolan, both regulars at Blarney Pub & Grill, said they are more interested in men’s hockey than basketball and were watching the Gopher’s play in the WCHA tournament Thursday night.
But one Dinkytown hotspot has taken full advantage.
David Tobey, general manager of The Library Bar in Dinkytown, said he also purchased the package from DirecTV, but unlike some other local owners, he decided to have food and drink specials.
Tobey said he could understand why some bars wouldn’t want the TV package, since he considers it to be expensive.
According to DirecTV’s Web site, the full package costs $69 in addition to the monthly service charge, which can range from $30 to almost $87.
Even with all the games on, he is surprised at the packed bar during spring break, he said.
“We weren’t expecting to be that busy this week but we are,” Tobey said.
He said in addition to the March Madness package, the bar also has the Big Ten Network to broadcast all Gopher sporting events.
He said with the popularity of women’s basketball, he expected more than 100 people on Easter Sunday for the Gopher women’s first game in the tournament.
“We get a lot of alumni in here just to watch the women’s basketball games,” Tobey said.
Aerospace engineering junior Kenny Liimatta, who was watching a game at The Library, said he is a big fan of basketball, especially Wisconsin, and has been for as long as he can remember.
“It was kind of disappointing last year because they exited a little early,” he said.
While he’s not going to any March Madness parties, Liimatta said he’s in a couple different pools and still doing pretty well.
“A lot of times there’s no logic to filling out brackets, just luck,” he said.
