Tens of thousands of basketball fans will be flocking to San Antonio for this weekend's Final Four, and for many of them it will be a business trip, Newsradio 1200 WOAI reports.
The college basketball championship has become a corporate affairs, meaning business leaders will be the ones filling those $55,000 suites at the Alamodome.
Richard Perez, who heads the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce says now is the time to meet with them and sell the city as a place for investment.
"This is a tremendous opportunity for us to show why it makes sense to be living in San Antonio and to opening or expanding a business here."
There’s' no denying San Antonio’s recent economic boom. Forbes magazine ranked the city number one when it comes to millennial growth and number ten on their list of fastest growing cities. The Milken Institute put San Antonio number eight when it comes to job growth, and number ten when it comes to best overall economic performance.
Perez says now is the time to pounce.
"Our economy is robust. Our climate is great. We're a welcoming city."
In the past decade since San Antonio last hosted the Final Four, the event has grown by leaps and bounds. It's now one of the largest sporting events in the country, with an estimated economic impact of nearly $200 million.
Cassandra Matej, who heads Visit San Antonio, says the decision by the NCAA to bring the games here proves we're running with the big dogs.
"Part of being on this stage, not only does it introduce many people to San Antonio, it shows corporations we are a major event destination."
Importantly, she says it shows the CEOs the quality of life in San Antonio.And it seems that those business leaders will be busy.
City Manager Sheryl Sculley says there have already business meetings lined up.
"Mayor (Ron) Nirenberg, Judge (Nelson) Wolff, the CEO of the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation and I will be meeting with the corporate people coming to San Antonio to talk about how great it is to do business in our region."
She says, in this current competitive business environment, every contact is an important one.