Revenues drastically increase for local businesses with Panthers in playoffs

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte businesses prepared for big crowds ahead of Sunday’s playoff matchup between the Carolina Panthers and the New Orleans Saints, hoping to cash in on the big game.

The Panthers are playing hundreds of miles away, but managers said that with the Panthers still playing, it makes a difference in their sales.

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Across the city, bar owners and managers are counting on the Panthers to keep their season going.

Ryan Lockhart, the assistant general manager at Draught in uptown close to the stadium, said winning means more business.

“Everything moves more when the Panthers are doing well,” Lockhart said. “Just the difference between this year and last year. If the Panthers look good, that affects people's mentality and they're more willing to come out.”

Fans said they are excited to watch the game and cheer on their Panthers.

“I think the excitement just builds between everyone,” fan Joe Huson said. “It kind of gives you that extra energy.”

Channel 9 spoke with the general manager of the All-American Pub in the South End neighborhood, who said the restaurant expected a packed house.

He said that if the Panthers weren’t playing, the business would likely be looking at a crowd that’s about half the size of the one expected Sunday.

Around noon, staff members were getting ready for the first wave of fans, and said they’ve had so many reservations that they can’t accept any more, but people are still welcome to walk in.

“You feel all the energy and the intensity of the games and the crowd,” All-American Pub employee Sarah Smart said.

The Panthers are back in the playoffs for the fourth time in five years, after missing the postseason last year.

Staff members said that when the Panthers make it to the playoffs, business is booming.

“It just fills up all of a sudden and you feel the intensity of the games and the crowd,” Smart said.

When a Channel 9 crew visited the restaurant around 10 a.m., there was already one fan who had gone in to hold his spot.

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