Kick-off is still three days away, but downtown businesses are already looking forward to the cash that’s coming. This weekend in particular means not only football, but Labor Day fireworks as well.
“You can drive the boat on the top or from the bottom,” explained Tony Karkoviak as he gave 6 News a tour of his houseboat parked outside of Calhoun’s on the River.
Karkoviak lives in Oak Ridge. He has been part of the Vol Navy for several decades now, but still claims, “I’m not much of a football fan. I just come along for the party.”
He drove his houseboat the 10 hours up the river last week.
“You’ve got to get here early, otherwise you won’t get a good seat,” he said.
He’ll stay docked in the prime spot until October.
“We do a huge business for the first home football game, especially when there’s a new coach. Everybody’s interested. They want to come see what’s going on. And then Boomsday is crazy,” said Calhoun’s on the River manager Steve Fletcher.
As for business the rest of the season, that all depends on the Vols.
“Sometimes people just say when they’re not winning, let’s just watch on TV,” Fletcher said. “So we really like them to win!”
Other businesses are also affected by wins and losses.
“Usually the hotels do fill up a lot earlier than they have this year. I think that might be part the economy, part the coaching change,” said Michael Parisi, Holiday Inn Worlds Fair Park General Manager.
But so far, the future looks bright.
“We’re excited that we’re full for Saturday. We’re full for Oregon next weekend and we’re hoping to continue that with Florida and UAB. I think a lot of people are waiting to just see how the team is going to perform and make their choice if they want to come to Knoxville,” Parisi said.
The Vols face off against UT Martin at 6 p.m. Saturday. It’s the first of their seven home games this season.
Source: WATE.com
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