Waddington fishing tournament increasing business for much of St. Lawrence County By VICTOR BARBOSA SUNDAY, AUGUST 11, 2013 ARTICLE OPTIONS AA MASSENA - The Evan Williams Bourbon St. Lawrence River Showdown is taking place in Waddington, but many businesses across St. Lawrence County have been reeling in some extra customers during the highly hyped fishing event. The Massena Quality Inn is serving as media headquarters for those covering the tournament, while a handful of the fishermen are staying in the hotel as well. General Manager Lee Stevens explained that times have been chaotic recently, but that was expected when Waddington was announced as this year’s host. “We knew it was going to be a lot of hoopla. Bassmasters, they’ve only got like 13 events scheduled this year. I think this is number 12 on their schedule and they generally tend not to go to smaller communities like this, so it was a big boom for St. Lawrence County and for the entire area that they’re coming here. So, we wanted to be a part of it and thankfully we are,” Mr. Stevens said. “Some of the fishermen are staying here. If you look in our parking lot, you’ll probably see a lot of boats out there so there’s quite a few that are staying here. We think this is going to be a great event for St. Lawrence County. We think it’ll attract other national organizations to perhaps come to St. Lawrence County at least as far as fishing is concerned and maybe they’ll attract something else all together.” Mr. Stevens also noted that rooms are completely booked for both Saturday and Sunday. It has been a busy few months for Mr. Stevens with college graduations in May and high school graduations in June creating an increase in business. “Obviously at graduation in May we fill up quite fast. Homecoming in the fall we fill up quite fast. Later this month we’ll probably be doing good business with parents bringing their kids to school and to college up here. So there are several times throughout the year,” he said. “Those times are as busy but they’re not as hectic as the Bassmasters is because it’s not just our hotel, it’s every hotel in the area. Hotels are running out of rooms fast so it’s a little bit more hectic this time than those other times in the year.” The Econo Lodge in Massena has also seen their numbers go up, due in part to last minute check-ins and down to the wire room requests. “We have only a couple of rooms left. We’ve had a lot of walk-ins and last minute people needing rooms. It’s definitely increased business. It’s putting the north country in the spotlight, which is exactly what we need,” Econo Lodge owner Sonia Desai said. “The last couple of days, people started coming in on the 7th and coming in (Thursday.) It’s been spread out this whole week. I think it will go through until Sunday. Most of the people are leaving the area on Sunday.” Restaurants have also seen an increase in consumers lately, some much more drastically than others. “In the last couple of days we’ve had a few come from the tournament that were sent over from the hotels,” Vino Vidi Vici owner Tarek Makdouli said. “I hope the increase continues. We had some good nights before, mostly Tuesday and Wednesday there was a reasonable amount.” Mr. Stevens has been thrilled with the effect on not only his own hotel, but businesses in general in Massena. “It’s a big plus for everybody; restaurants, hotels, and just general businessmen and stores, the Mom and Pop’s and what have you. So we’re glad they’re here and we hope that they’ll come back again soon.” Various kinds of businesses in the host town and also Lisbon are experiencing a boom in consumers as well. Sisters Kathy Dupray, Mary Hamilton, Patty Van Patten, Nancy Badlam, Peggy Beldock, and Jean Daniels are all taking shifts at the Touch of Icing, 19 Main St., to deal with the expected increase in business. Mrs. Hamilton traveled from her home in Hammond to help her sisters. “We weren’t sure what to prepare for,” Mrs. Hamilton said. “We’ve brought in a lot of supplies and extra help. We can already see on Friday business is picking up and we expect our busiest days will be the weekend.” The sisters have taken full advantage of the tournament. They are selling fish cookies, opened a coffee shop at the launch for anglers at 6:30 a.m., set up a booth in Taste and Talents of the North Country Festival and made T-shirts featuring their business’s address and logo. “It’s been a big hit so far,” Mrs. Hamilton said. “The tournament and set up are impressive. It’s like a county or state fair. It’s nicely laid out and a beautiful setting.” Lisbon Beach and Campground Director Michael J. O’Neil said all 92 campsites are full. Spectators and professional anglers booked sites starting last August. “We have even started a waiting list,” Mr. O’Neil said. Many of the anglers, he says, got to the sites before and will stay in town a few days after the tournament. “It’s helped a lot,” he said. “There’s been a lot of people coming in to see them and their boats. It’s been a tremendous impact on the area and the stores. They are filling up their tanks on a daily basis at Parkway Country Store. They use a lot of fuel. Plus they are getting groceries and subs. They are very nice people. I haven’t seen one that wasn’t more than accommodating.”
Posted on: Sun, 11 Aug 2013 12:49:53 +0000
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