CHAMPAIGN Ill. (WAND)- The Illinois Middle School Basketball Championships are this weekend, which means that the City of Champaign is about to go through an economic boom.
According to Director of Event Services and Film Mark Brown, the city gets a ton of people coming from out of town, and with extra family members coming to support, economic revenue can skyrocket.
"We do anticipate our hotels and our restaurants and businesses to be very busy with this event as well. We estimate the economic impact to be between $2 and $2.5 million," said Brown.
For Forge Kitchen, a local food business, they've seen just how busy this weekend can get.
"We normally have a consistent line through the door for about maybe like 2 or 3 hours, during lunch and then for dinner about the same," said General Manager Breannah Simon.
She says, in order to prepare, they will cook as much extra food as possible and make sure they are fully staffed.
"We have to schedule more people. We prepare notes for staff so they can know what's going on if they don't know what's going on already. Then we train them as we go," said Simon.
This championship is a big deal for families and players alike. If you would like to purchase tickets and watch the games yourself, click here.
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