Businesses plan for economic boost from Beyoncé performing in Charlotte
As the crew put the final touches on the stage for Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour, excitement is building in the business community.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - The Queen City is less than a day away from Queen Bey herself performing at Bank of America Stadium on Wednesday.
Charlotte is the only stop for Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour in the Carolinas, so it’s expected to bring tens of thousands of people to boost the local economy.
Over the last few months, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé were both said to boost the local economy by millions of dollars in cities where they have tour stops.
Early signs in Charlotte point to a similar trend with hotels booked up and businesses bringing in more workers to help with the influx of people.
Related: Road closures announced ahead of Beyoncé concert in uptown Charlotte
“We’re super excited about Beyonce coming to BOA Stadium,” James LaBar, the SVP of economic development for Charlotte Center City Partners, said.
“I think it’s going to be good for the block, being right here on Mint Street,” Ramond Boyd, the owner of Cloud South End, added.
As the crew put the final touches on the stage for Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour, excitement is building in the business community.
“This is really, really good, it’s a little bit slower week, August is always kind of a hit or miss month, so we really appreciate Beyonce coming, especially in the middle of the week, it means a lot of good business for us, the restaurants and the city,” Stephanie Harkness, the marketing director of sales for the Hilton Garden Inn Charlotte Uptown and Hampton Inn and Suites, said.
Staff with The Hilton Garden Inn Charlotte Uptown and Hampton Inn and Suites said both hotels are sold out Tuesday and Wednesday for the concert.
“We sold out last week and rates started increasing pretty early on,” Harkness said.
Data from the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority released data from 2022 showing: Charlotte Hotel Performance During Concerts at Bank of America Stadium.
- Regardless of the announced attendance, we can estimate that roughly half of everyone in the stadium for these concerts came from out of town
- In Uptown, there was about a 40% lift in occupancy and a 26% lift in rates on nights of these concerts compared to the average hotel performance over the prior six months
- Across the county, we did see a lift on most nights when there were concerts in BOA Stadium. On average, occupancy across the county increases by 15.5% and rates grew by 13.6% on evenings where BOA hosted those concerts
Businesses like Cloud South End are expecting a 50% increase on Wednesday, typically an already busy day for the lounge.
“Add on the Beyonce concert, getting the traffic in before and after, it’s definitely going to be a good night,” Boyd said. “I think it’s going to be a good night everywhere for the city.”
Charlotte Center City Partners said restaurant reservations are booked up along with hotel occupancy.
It expects visits in uptown Charlotte to reach or exceed the numbers the Luke Combs concert brought to Charlotte a few weeks ago.
“We’re kind of gathering this will be one of the highest days for 2023, so it’ll put it in the realm of 220,000 to 270,000 visits on that Wednesday,” LaBar said.
With more people in town comes more staff at businesses.
“Just adding extra bartenders, extra waitresses, extra security, just preplanning,” Boyd said.
Charlotte Center Partners said it should have data on Beyoncé’s impact on Charlotte by next Monday.
One thing is for sure, Bank of America Stadium will be packed with fans and the “BeyHive” come Wednesday evening.
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