MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Businesses across Wisconsin are preparing for a busy weekend with the University of Wisconsin once again in the men’s basketball Final Four.
Sports bars and grocery stores expect big business with the Wisconsin men’s basketball team facing Kentucky on Saturday night. There’s also opening day for the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday, and the possibility that the Badgers could play in the championship that evening.
Mike Szohr, general manager of Leff’s Lucky Town in Wauwatosa, said there’s a lot of extra work being done for this weekend. That means a lot more beer, burgers and chicken wings.
“It puts a little extra pressure on us,” Szohr told the Journal Sentinel (https://bit.ly/1D0u6YF). “We’ll plan for Saturday, then see what happens, then work on the fly and do what we need to do for Monday.”
Sunday’s Easter holiday is also big for retailers. A survey from the National Retail Federation says Easter spending is expected to be $16.4 billion overall.
“This is always a busy time of year,” said Will Jaja, store leader at JCPenney in Brookfield. “We’re hoping (the Badgers) will win to go onto the championship.”
Daily Tribune Media (https://wrtnews.co/1G9mnd7 ) reports team apparel is flying off store shelves in central Wisconsin. Shawn Biedenbender, customer service manager at Shopko in Wisconsin Rapids, said the store’s hottest seller is a T-shirt that says “The Badger Way” on the front with “Back to Back Final Four Appearances” on the back.
Some businesses are offering specials on Badgers gear and game-time food and drink. Jennings & Co. bar in Wisconsin Rapids will have a Badger Bacon Burger on Saturday, with a “W’’ in Sriracha sauce topping the open-face burger.
St. Norbert College sports economist Kevin Quinn said fans’ feelings about the Badgers’ success can translate into sales.
“We’ve seen that in other kinds of things where people, when they feel good about their sports team, they probably are a little more apt to just open up their wallets,” Quinn said. “There’s a little bit of that.”
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