CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — As thousands of people prepare for the Beach to Bay relay marathon, local businesses are getting their operations in order to accommodate the increase of customers.
This weekend will mark the 46th anniversary of the annual marathon, stretching 26 miles from the island all the way to the bayfront.
"We've looked at the economic impact forecast for this event and looking at how it's been in the year's past. There's going to be about $1.5 million in direct spending over the weekend in Corpus Christi from visitors," Visit Corpus Christi President & CEO Brett Oetting said. "That is going to benefit all of the business owners by putting money in their pockets that they can turn around and be successful for this event."
It's not just the 8,000 runners that are coming to the city. Spectators in the thousands are also heading our way. So far, there's already 1,000 hotel rooms booked up along the bay area.
Restaurants like Mesquite Street Pizza and Pasta Co. said they feed off post-race munchies and local hotel orders.
"Our revenue like I said really steps up a lot when Beach to Bay comes in. We’re one of the first people that come up when they dial in food services. All the hotels that are here, they’re ordering to-go’s like crazy," General Manager Breana Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said Mesquite Street is expected to see an increase of more than 300 customers. In addition to the short-term economic impact from Beach to Bay, there will also be a longer lasting domino effect to those supporting local businesses.
"All those individuals that stay in restaurants and they go to attractions, they pay sales tax dollars as well," Oetting said. "The city uses those sales tax dollars to fix the streets, improve our parks and recreations to hire more police officers, more firefighters. We need that, it helps us and advances the city in more ways than just one."
Beach to Bay kicks off Saturday, May 20, at 7 a.m.
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