By Joann Muller, Globe Staff, 07/13/98
When two major conventions decided last week to leave New York and return to Boston next year, tourism officials could barely contain their excitement. They quickly revised their 1999 schedule, one already filled with an unprecedented string of high-profile events that will provide the city with its best opportunity in memory to put itself on display.
Hundreds of thousands of tourists are expected to pour into Boston in 1999 for the Ryder Cup, golf's prestigious international competition between US and European professionals, at The Country Club in Brookline; the Women's World Cup soccer tournament at Foxboro Stadium; and Major League Baseball's All-Star Game at Fenway Park.
And that's not all: Next year Boston also will host early rounds of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, the National Hockey League's annual player draft, and more than a dozen large technology, education, and health-care industry conventions, including the two surprise returnees from New York -- MacWorld Expo, the annual East Coast trade show and gathering of Apple Computer Inc. enthusiasts, and the Seybold desktop publishing seminars.
The conventions and sporting events are expected to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy and, in some instances, propel Boston onto a world stage. But hosting just one big-time event puts a strain on any city; hosting so many, one after another, is a potential nightmare. Can Boston, a modest-sized city with notorious traffic jams and a critical shortage of hotel rooms, handle the pressure?
Not suprisingly, tourism officials say the city will be ready, noting that none of the major events expected to draw 75,000 to 100,000 or more people -- the Ryder Cup, the Women's World Cup, and the All-Star Game -- overlap with one another. "As long as they're not happening at the same time, we should not have a problem,'' said Tony Nunziante, a spokesman for the city's Office of Special Events and Tourism.
Some observers say that, unlike years past when city agencies often engaged in turf battles, there is more cooperation now because officials recognize that beyond the economic benefits of staging blockbuster events, Boston has a chance to sell itself to organizations that might consider coming here in the future.
"That kind of communication and cross-fertilization makes these things work,'' said Dusty Rhodes, whose firm, Conventures Inc., has helped the city plan many showcase events over the years. But, she added that putting on a major event in Boston is always complex because of its geography, traffic, and lack of venues for large crowds.
"In this town, it takes extraordinary planning,'' she said.
Indeed, despite their upbeat attitude and near-giddiness about Boston's 1999 events schedule, tourism officials admit that the heat is on.
"If we drop the ball, it's going to cost us in terms of being able to attract events like these,'' acknowledged Patrick B. Moscaritolo, president of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau. "I'm sweating the details, that's for sure.''
But Moscaritolo and others say their confidence in preparing for the onslaught of tourists in 1999 stems from a successful track record hosting several logistically complex events in recent years, such as SailBoston '92, the men's World Cup soccer in 1994, and the 100th running of the Boston Marathon in 1996.
"We've done these kinds of international, world-class events before,'' said Moscaritolo.
But never so many of them in a single year.
The city's major events calendar starts filling up in late January, with a convention of more than 21,000 dentists, and picks up steam through the spring with the Seybold Seminars, expected to draw 20,000 desktop and Internet publishers; the NCAA tournament playoffs, which could attract more than 30,000 fans; and the International Seafood Show, which draws more than 20,000 visitors annually.
The basketball tournament and seafood show will overlap and be followed immediately by the National Science Teachers convention. Because Boston is such a popular tourist destination for families, many of those attending the three events are expected to meet up with spouses and children and spend some extra days, which is good news for the local economy but a potentially heavy strain on hotel capacity, according to Moscaritolo.
The summer months will be even busier, with the women's World Cup soccer tournament at Foxboro Stadium June 20 through July 4, the All-Star game at Fenway Park on July 13, and the return of MacWorld Expo Aug. 4-6.
If the US women's soccer team, the defending world champion, makes the semifinal round at Foxboro, the World Cup tournament could draw as many as 100,000 people, Moscaritolo said. The All-Star game, including four days of pre-game activities, will attract another 100,000 and MacWorld could draw up to 50,000.
But the premier event for 1999 is the Ryder Cup, which is scheduled to begin the third week of September at The Country Club. The tournament, at which the best US golfers will attempt to wrest the cup away from their European counterparts, is expected to bring more than 150,000 people and an estimated $50 million to the Boston area during its nine-day visit.
For all these events, securing enough hotel space will be perhaps the biggest challenge. Developers are building several hotels around Greater Boston, and Moscaritolo said there would be about 2,500 additional rooms in the region by the end of next year, but it is unclear how many extra hotel rooms would be ready for next year's major events.
With the economy booming, most hotels in Greater Boston are enjoying high occupancy rates because of increased business travel. Add special events such as the All-Star Game or the Ryder Cup, and things could really get tight. One obvious solution is to book rooms well in advance in nearby cities.
For instance, the Boston tourism bureau had to reserve blocks of hotel rooms for next March as far away as Providence to accommodate all of the 18,000 visitors expected for the National Science Teachers convention in Boston.
For the Ryder Cup in September, tourism officials have reserved about 7,000 rooms in 44 hotels around Greater Boston. Since most visitors will stay for multiple days, that adds up to roughly 42,000 "room nights'' in hotel parlance, Moscaritolo said.
"Every hotel within a 25-mile radius of Brookline has been booked for eight months,'' said Marge Amster, the town economic development officer in charge of coordinating many of the plans for the golf tournament.
Transportation is another tricky issue, especially because of chronic traffic problems caused by the Big Dig. As a result, the MBTA will play a pivotal role in getting people to and from events. With parking for the Ryder Cup extremely limited, for example, up to two-thirds of the estimated 30,000 people attending the tournament each day are expected to take the T, Amster said. Others will be transported to the country club on buses arranged by corporate sponsors.
Amster acknowledges that transportation issues are probably the town's biggest issue, but said, "I feel positive because we have lots of time to anticipate many different situations and to develop plans for them.'' And she had some simple advice for handling the Ryder Cup as well as the other major events scheduled for next year.
"It's important that we plan early,'' she said. "It's not something that you do very often -- try to handle this large a group of people.''
