Cricket World Cup in East Meadow keeps hotels, restaurants busy

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This year marked the first time the T20 Cricket World Cup came to Long Island. And while it’s too soon to report specifics on its economic impact, local leaders say the 2024 qualifiers at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow are giving the region a boost.

“We didn’t know what to expect,” said Frank Camarano Jr., president of the Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce. “Based on what’s happened so far, it’s a winner all around.”

For fans, cricket is serious business. Sunday’s India-Pakistan match, for instance, brought more than 34,000 to the temporary cricket stadium at Eisenhower Park. Many of the people attending the tournament, which spanned from June 3 through June 12 on Long Island, need a place to sleep and eat, keeping hotels and restaurants busy.

In Nassau County, the tournament is expected to generate more than $150 million in economic activity, said Darcy Belyea, commissioner of Nassau’s Department of Parks, Recreation & Museums.

“Hotels in Nassau County are doing very well, and demand pushed into western Suffolk,” said Dorothy Roberts, president of the Long Island Hospitality Association.

The final numbers won’t be released until after all the data is collected and analyzed, which takes about two weeks, Roberts said.

Last time this year, hotel rates in Nassau were in the $200 range, whereas over the past week rates were between $400 to $750 per night, Roberts said.

Airbnb on Long Island saw a surge in searches of nearly 500% for stays between June 10-16, compared to the same period last year, according to the company. The company said guests traveling to Nassau for the tournament hailed from Florida, Arizona, California and England; in addition, some traveled from Rochester, New York.

International travelers tend to have a longer length of stay than domestic travelers, Roberts said.

“Long Island has a lot to offer,” Roberts said. “It’s not just the beaches in Nassau and Suffolk. There’s golf, beautiful parks, historic sites, dotted villages across the North Shore, spectacular restaurants and entertainment venues. There’s a lot to do.

The larger hotels on Long Island were booked by larger groups – and that could include teams as well as their support staff – whereas the smaller venues tended to be booked by individuals, Roberts said.

June is a busy time for the hospitality sector on Long Island, Roberts said. People travel here for weddings and graduations as well as sports events. Next week, for example, is the LI Lax Fest, she said, bringing in more visitors. And the cricket tournament increased demand for the sector, serving as a boost especially this year when the Belmont Stakes had been relocated to Saratoga Springs.

Belyea said many of the surrounding businesses “have seen a lot of foot traffic over the last days,” and that the tournament aimed to give them a boost, especially after COVID.

Frank Borrelli from Borrelli’s restaurant said he charged for parking on game days. Fans, he said, appreciated the ability to park there because the closer it got to start time for the matches, the trickier it was to park. He gave them $10 vouchers to eat at the restaurant, and at least half would come back for a meal. He also handled catering and takeout orders, including one for 200 people.

People came from New Jersey, Maryland and Ontario. Some were repeat customers during the tournament, he said.

During Sunday’s India-Pakistan match, the restaurant was also hosting a christening and a baby shower. That day, he seated guests on the patio and at the bar and encouraged takeout.

“We had to hustle and be creative,” he said.

For Jim Roggio, the owner of Burger City in East Meadow, new foot traffic came from the Suffolk and Nassau police, NYPD, federal security teams as well as construction workers and others working on the stadium.

The way the traffic flow was directed, he said, spectators didn’t seem to pass by his eatery.

Still, he was ready to handle boosted demand, and was accustomed to that based on increases he’d seen having been named best burger two consecutives years from Bethpage Federal Credit Union.

For the tournament, “we didn’t know what to anticipate,” Roggio said. “I told our vendors that I might need to call for food backup. But that never happened.”

Camarano said he has heard from chambers that business was up in Massapequa, Hicksville, Farmingdale and Merrick.

The boost in business, he said, “radiated out farther than we expected.”