New Haven small businesses experience significant increases in sales when Yale hosts The Game, and they have been preparing for the surge in business in the week leading up to the contest.
Olivia Woo & Hari Viswanathan
Staff Reporters
Rana Roosevelt, Contributing Illustrator
A number of New Haven businesses are expecting large increases in revenue at the time of the Yale-Harvard game, with some stocking additional merchandise or increasing staffing to take advantage of the crowds of fans flocking to New Haven.
Islam Alzhougi, a server at Burgerway on Whitney Avenue, said that on the Yale-Harvard game day in 2023, the restaurant experienced a 47 percent increase in sales from those of an average Saturday. Burgerway will hire one extra chef and extend its opening hours this Saturday in anticipation of The Game, Alzhougi said.
Good Nature Market, a longtime student haunt on Broadway, experiences a 50 percent increase in sales on Harvard-Yale gameday, according to Tae Park, the store’s manager. The market has stocked 50 percent more goods than usual to prepare for the upcoming weekend, Park said.
“Visits to the Shops at Yale have increased by 15 percent in the past week alone, indicating strong interest in planning ahead for the weekend,” Alexandra Daum, the associate vice president for New Haven affairs and University Properties, wrote to the News.
According to Victoria Verderame, the communications director at the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, families who live across Connecticut come to The Game as a regular tradition.
It costs the University money in order to pay for tailgates, student events, food and security measures in the hours and days surrounding The Game, according to Yale College Dean Pericles Lewis..
When asked whether or not Yale experiences greater costs than revenue generated by the Game, Associate Vice President of Student Life Burgwell Howard said, “my supposition is that it costs us money to host The Game.”
“Yale College has spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $100,000 to feed everybody and make certain things available, add additional shuttles and the like,” Howard said. “It’s money that I think we have been willing to and are glad to spend because it’s important to our community.”
According to Howard, Yale College has changed spending allocations from 2023 in order to prioritize student health, safety and transportation, while eliminating costs on spirit merchandise and complimentary food at Saturday’s tailgate.
This year, dining halls will be open for hot breakfast on Saturday for all Harvard and Yale students, regardless of their meal plans. Howard said that the change was implemented in order to ensure that students have food in their systems on the morning of The Game.
The tailgate lunch typically provided to students at the Bowl, however, will no longer be offered due to a lack of student demand in recent years.
More food will be available for purchase from tents at Saturday’s tailgate than in past years. According to Howard, tailgate tent rentals contribute little to University revenue.
“If the School of Management wants to host an event or the Alumni Office wants to bring in a tent, we might charge $2,000 or something like that for a rental site, but that requires a tent, that requires chairs, electricity, all these things,” Howard said. “So in the end, it’s a negligible profit that’s made when you rent out these because there are many other expenses.”
In addition to tent rentals and ticket sales, Yale Athletics collects revenue by charging for parking, which costs $20 per car, as well as for alcoholic beverages. This year, Yale Athletics has expanded its ability to serve alcohol, which will be available for purchase in four locations this year compared to the two offered in 2023, Howard said.
According to Howard, Yale College will also be spending more money on shuttles than in previous years and has worked with the city to plan an efficient route to the Bowl.
Despite these expenses, administrators expressed confidence in its ability to cover future game day expenses.
“Yale Athletics maintains a consistent fiscal approach, preparing effectively for both years when Yale hosts and years when it does not,” assistant athletic director Colleen Murphy wrote to the News.
Saturday’s game will be the 141st iteration of The Game.
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