Three sold-out home games, 6,700 booked hotel rooms, and an estimated 112,000 people attending watch parties helped drive the surge, bringing crowds to areas from Moore Square to Glenwood South.
Bar and restaurant owners said the timing was critical. Summer months often bring less foot traffic as residents travel, and college students leave town. But the Hurricanes' playoff run reversed that trend, creating what many described as an energetic and profitable period.
"It's just been a lot of good energy, a lot of happy people, just a lot of just good local like, love and energy," said Katherine Petrea, manager of My Way Tavern.
Petrea said the increased volume went beyond just more customers.
"We've definitely increased with this just in terms of like, people wanting to also just stay longer. So, it just kind of adds to that percentage of sales," she said.
That momentum has carried into other major sporting events. At My Way Tavern, crowds continued to gather to watch the FIFA World Cup, keeping the atmosphere lively.
"World Cup starting right around the same time as all that was wrapping up, everybody just kind of still riding that wave of kind of hanging out, going out, watching the sports and the matchups and wanting their team to win," Petrea said.
Other businesses downtown saw similar impacts, particularly during the Hurricanes' victory parade, when more than 180,000 fans flooded city streets.
At Elements and Taproom on Fayetteville Street, staff said they were quickly overwhelmed by demand.
"We had so many people by 2 p.m., we already ran out of everything," said host and bartender Nick Bland.
Bland said the bar rushed to restock after Saturday's demand.
"This is half of it," Bland said as he pointed to the Taproom's recent delivery. "We had another cart. We took that away. We also had four vendors come in today just for getting kegs up here."
Bland said no previous event had come close to the business generated during the celebration, noting that revenue surged dramatically.
"Definitely triple. I know for sure. Maybe more," he said.
For many business owners, the Hurricanes' playoff run proved to be more than just a sporting success. It became a powerful economic driver for Raleigh at a time when many establishments typically struggle, highlighting the broader impact of major sports events on the local economy.
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