PHOENIX — Downtown Phoenix festivities surrounding Super Bowl 57 drew in tens of thousands of people over the past week.
Business owners along the popular Roosevelt Row spoke with 12 News to share whether the reality of Super Bowl week matched the expectations.
Super Bowl week and the big game weekend that followed brought huge crowds to downtown Phoenix.
Of course, that meant more traffic and limited parking, but for business owners along Roosevelt Row, the iconic restaurant and arts district along the north end of downtown Phoenix, a lot more activity
“It’s been a crazy few days," said Amanda Melcher, who works at The Theodore. “I think yesterday was our busiest day ever.”
It meant an influx of people stopping by to grab a drink and do a little shopping.
“We’re right on Roosevelt Row and so we get a lot of foot traffic,” she said.
“It’s been pretty wild, there’s been a lot of people down here,” said Kenny Barrett, co-owner of the Phoenix General Boutique.
Barrett says they have seen a steady flow of business on most days.
“We’re kind of a touristy area as it is, and I think that’s a big win for Phoenix,” he said. “…this area has kind of come along way.”
But less sales on others…
“There was a little bit of a lull during all the set up and stuff, because it’s such a huge feat to put together an event like this,” he added.
Down the road, Joe Mehl of the Roosevelt Row Arts Markets set up shop.
“With the Super Bowl here, we kind of were displaced off of our usual spot that we set up every weekend,” he said.
But he says thankfully, they got a permit through the vice mayor to set up along a specific stretch of Roosevelt.
“It was really good,” he said. “…and it was a really good experience for all the vendors.”
There’s no doubt the crowds surrounding Super Bowl Week had an impact on the bottom line of some businesses more than others.
“We transformed this lot,” said Nathan Harris of LLUX Group. “We re-did all of it and popped up this event in a space that wouldn’t have been utilized before.”
The festivities leading up to the big game brought an indescribable energy, especially the night scene at pop-up party sites like the one LLUX Group setup…
“I think that after all of this is gone, we have new eyeballs on Phoenix,” said Harris.
…an energy and profits they won’t soon forget.
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