GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC 26) -- Local hotels are expecting some major impacts as the Packers announced there will be no fans at training camp practices, Family Night, or preseason games.
Steve Ninham, the general manager of the Radisson Hotel, called it "another financial blow" to the hotel. He said at one point, they had to lay-off and furlough 235 employees and had to release about half of them recently. He said they're maintaining some of the employees at the hotel with the little businesses they have. With no fans in August, Ninham said they will lose quite a bit of business.
"I think close to 600 thousand with those two events," he explained in regards to no fans at preseason games and training camp.
As for Family Night, he said they'd often get a lot of transient business that they'll lose. He added that they went from being sold out to 20 percent occupancy.
Hotel Northland general manager Kenny Didier said he understands the decision the Packers made and supports decisions made by the franchise and league but that it is disappointing.
"We'll definitely feel some occupancy decline just based on people coming in for the various events talked about in the announcement," added Didier.
An announcement about fan attendance during the regular season has not been made at this time. Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy said the team is still hopeful it can host a limited amount of fans in the regular season. Some hotels said they're looking ahead to the season to prepare. Ninham said if fans weren't allowed in the stadium during the season, they could see a $2 million impact to the hotel.
