OSWEGO, N.Y. (NCC News) –-The Home2 Suites in Oswego was fully booked for this week nearly 10 months ago. Ian Wilson, the hotel’s General Manager, said that it could have filled up even sooner.
Wilson, general manager of the Home2 Suites since it opened in 2017, said that in all of his time in hospitality, he’s never experienced anything like Super DIRT Week.
“Starting today you really get the fans,” Wilson said. “We’re going to be fully booked from today until Sunday.”
DIRT Week is a car racing event that’s been hosting at Oswego Speedway since 2016. It’s unique because the drivers compete on a dirt surface. Races run every day for the week of Oct. 6 with various satellite races happening on nearby tracks in upstate New York.
Wilson said this week makes October one of the more successful months for businesses during the year.
“Generally, I would say on a weekly basis we’re in the $50,000 to $60,000 range for a week,” Wilson said. “This week we’re upwards of over $100,000.”
The only other time the Home2 might sell out all year is during SUNY-Oswego graduation.
Wilson understands that the money his business is seeing is just a small fraction of what the fans are bringing into his city.
“Just the people that stay here, they’re out and about every day, eating at local restaurants, going to local bars,” Wilson said. “We’re just essentially giving them a place to stay and hopefully bringing in more people.”
Wilson said that he saw estimates that DIRT Week brings in over $10 million to the area, just in one week. He even said that his hotel could be full for next year before this weekend is even over.
“These race fans are pretty serious about this week, and a lot of them, probably 50% of them, book before they leave,” Wilson said.
The drivers will take the track in Weedsport on Wednesday night, followed by another satellite race in Brewerton on Thursday, before the circuit finishes out the week at the Oswego Speedway.
