Detroit has figured out how to get sports fans here by hosting major events like the Super Bowl and the Final Four. Now it's working on getting these people to spend, spend, spend.
Excerpt:
DETROIT -- The Final Four won't rival the Super Bowl in size or scope, but Detroit's turn at hosting the college basketball championship comes just in time to rescue the city's ailing national reputation -- and boost the coffers of downtown businesses to the tune of as much as $50 million.
The 100,000 fans expected to descend on Detroit the weekend of April 4 for this year's NCCA Men's Basketball Final Four are likely to be as fanatical about technology as basketball, with visitors sending updates about their visit in real time through instant messages on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, city boosters said.
The word-of-mouth publicity is "more valuable than dollars and cents," said Jim Townsend, executive director of the Tourism Economic Development Council, a division of the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau.
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