Do Houston businesses boom when Minute Maid Park hosts playoff games? Not necessarily, manager says
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The Astros are currently in position to play in the 2023 postseason, but their current seeding doesn't come with a guarantee of a home game.
Would no more Astros games at Minute Maid Park until 2024 hurt the bars and restaurants in the area?
The general manager of Vinny's Pizza in East Downtown said not as much as you'd think.
"We're not reliant on the playoffs," Jeff Taylor, the GM of the pizzeria, admitted. "We do rely on the regular season."
There are 81 regular-season home games at Minute Maid Park each year, but the Astros would have to advance past the first round of this year's postseason to play at home again. They currently sit at the No. 6 seed if the playoffs started Thursday.
Taylor said people might get pizza on the way back to their cars following playoff games, but he went into more detail when describing how those games actually hurt business.
"(Playoff baseball) spikes up the parking and monopolizes all the parking," said Taylor. "I think people are less inclined to come down here and enjoy what the neighborhood has to offer outside of the Astros when parking is so expensive."
Taylor said bars in the neighborhood might see some spikes during home playoff games, but nothing business-changing.
Taylor wanted to make one thing clear, however.
"I'm rooting for the Astros 100% of the way," Taylor said. "I've been an 'Astros Buddy' since I could crawl."
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