BOSTON (WHDH) - No matter what happens on the court, the NBA Finals are expected to be a boom for Boston businesses as fans flock to the city from all over the country.
On Thursday, as tipoff in Game 1 rapidly approached, local businesses were finishing final preparations.
“When you have this big of a spotlight on you, everyone needs to step their game up, whether it’s the city itself, our business, even down to people selling T-shirts outside the Garden,” said Nolan Hamilton, the general manager at Hurricane’s at the Garden. “It’s a huge revenue booster, so we just want to make sure we’re in the best position to capture all that business.”
At the Greatest Bar, General Manager Tony Costa said the bar had extra staff and extra product in place ahead of Thursday’s game.
“We’re ready to go,” he told 7NEWS. “We wait all year for this.”
“We sold every seat and every table, so we’re ready to go,” he continued. “We got probably 500 people coming in before the game and another five or six during the game.”
Costa said the finals are “unbelievable.”
“This is going to carry us through the next two weeks,” he said.
Hamilton said it is not difficult to find staff willing to work extra shifts, saying “staff lives for this time of year.”
Costa said upcoming busy nights require plenty of planning, though.
“Just making sure you have everything’s right for the city, there’s health violations, liquor deliveries, things like that, food deliveries,” he said. “A lot goes into preparation. It’s a three day preparation to get to tonight.”
“It’s great for the city, publicity,” Hamilton said. “It just gives a good feeling, a good vibe to the area around here. So, it’s huge, super important for the city this time of year.”
Tipoff for Game 1 is set for 8:30 p.m.
The finals will continue with Game 2 on Sunday in Boston with an 8 p.m. tipoff.
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