Broadway will turn into “Allison Road” when the Belmont Stakes returns to Saratoga Springs in June.
Belmont on Broadway shut down the Spa City’s main thoroughfare last year, and this year thefree concert is coming back.
90s rock band Gin Blossoms will headline the show June 4th.
Saratoga Race Course is also hosting a special July 4th weekend of racing this year before the regular 40-day meet, totaling a record 49 days of racing at The Spa. The Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown, is being held upstate on June 7th for a second year as its regular downstate home is renovated.
Saratoga Economic Development Corporation President Greg Connors said he expects the summer’s extended racing season, in addition to the Belmont, will mean a $450 million economic impact.
“Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County enjoyed unprecedented national, and in some cases, international media attention and exposure: television, traditional media, and online communications that encouraged a visit and or a stay to not only our city and county but the entire Capital Region. During the Belmont Stakes festival and for the entire month of June, when comparing 2024 to 2023 our revenue per available room throughout the county increase by nearly 20%,” said Connors.
Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chair Phil Barrett is also celebrating the Belmont’s return.
“We’re just very excited and pleased to be a part of this and lend our support however we can do that. And we look forward to another wonderful event. We did see a nice 10% bump on our occupancy tax last year and I think that shows that it did bring quite a few people to our county. We expect the same or perhaps more in 2025,” said Barrett.
City Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi lamented the apparent underwhelming economic impact on the city following last year’s upstate Test of the Champion. The city’s sale tax revenues during the event came out to roughly $82,000 while overtime costs for public safety ran to more than $106,000.
This year, she’s hopeful the city is in a better position to profit from the influx of visitors.
“Second time around you’re always better prepared because you know what to expect. I think the downtown businesses are better prepared, I think the fact that they adjusted the opening act at 7 o’clock instead of 6 is keeping in mind the downtown businesses and the fact that, you know, we could have one more seating for dinner. So, these are the kinds of tweaks that really make a big difference in terms of our revenues. Also managing our expenses. Making sure that we are working with all the other agencies but not committing so much overtime that we are significantly over budget,” said Sanghvi.
One source of potential revenue that remains in question is the city’s paid parking program. It was projected to generate more than $450,000 this year, but new Public Works Commissioner Chuck Marshall, who won January’s contested special election, ran on a platform of cutting the program. Paid parking would be in effect in all city-owned lots from Memorial Day through Labor Day with street parking remaining free.
Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce President Todd Shimkus says they’re hoping to boost local business for the week.
“We are going to do a promotional campaign: the Belmont Stakes Festival Day, Saturday, is a lot like Travers. The folks that come here go to the track, and they’re stuck there for the day. You can’t go in and out. So, what that means is our downtown is wide open,” said Shimkus.
New York Racing Association President David O’Rourke says there are no plans to make the July 4th racing festival a regular occurrence. As for whether Belmont Park’s half-a-billion renovation will be completed in time to host next year’s stakes?
“Yeah, we’ll talk about that one after this year,” said O’Rourke.