The Lions win against the Waikato Chiefs had a silver lining for the region with Paymark figures showing a huge spike in hospitality spending between Monday and Wednesday.
Paymark only tracks card payments on associated eftpos terminals but is considered a good barometer of spending in regions. The latest figures track hospitality expenditure excluding accomodation.
Spending through Paymark at bars, clubs and restaurants increased to $2.2 million, $740,000 higher than average during the same days. It was a 51 per cent increase in spending for the region.
According to Paymark, an extra $250,000 of spending occured in the three hours before the game on Tuesday night. Following the game, as punters celebrated (or commiserated), an extra $108,000 of spending occurred.
Outside of the bars and restaurants, spending increased in the local merchant sector including taxis, liquor stores and fast-food outlets on game day.
