Business owners: Fans not ponying up for Pats’ gear

Several local North Shore business owners say they haven’t yet seen an uptick in Patriots’ gear as New England’s football team make its run for a fourth Super Bowl championship.Owners of local bars, travel agencies and a furniture rental store say they’re disappointed in the lack of patrons spending money on Patriots-related services and goods as the Pats prepare to play in Sunday’s AFC Championship game against the Ravens.Despite the buzz, business owners like Rocko DiFilippo of Brickyard Bar & Grill on Boston Street in Lynn say their expectations are low for weekend game-watchers.”A lot of people are staying home and watching their own big-screen TVs with their own friends,” DiFilippo said.He’ll offer a free buffet during the game in the hopes of drawing more people to his bar.”It’s tough to get people out now, but we’re gonna give it a shot,” he said.It’s also not likely North Shore fans are planning to jump on a party bus and watch the game together at Foxborough, said travel agent Brian Magrane, who owns Magrane Travel Service in Lynn.Magrane said booking group tickets for a Patriots’ game is an expensive endeavor that usually requires paying a ticket broker. He said there are too many season-ticket holders to book 30 or 40 individual tickets in one section.”The days of guys getting together and going to a football game ? are very much in the rear view mirror,” he said.Like DiFilipo and Rosa, Magrane is hopeful that a win Sunday will mean super business Monday.”Maybe Monday my phone will be ringing off the hook,” Magrane said of potential Super Bowl travelers.But fans waiting for confirmation that their Patriots will be playing in the Super Bowl before booking a trip should expect to dole out upwards of $10,000 to travel to Indianapolis, Magrane said.He said Super Bowl tickets alone can cost $5,000 a seat. Closer to home, Magrane said he saw a private suite for Sunday’s game priced at $100,000.But at least one sports-related local business is benefiting from the Pats’ success.If people plan to watch Sunday’s game at home, business owner Raymond Rosa hasn’t seen any indication of it.Rosa owns Aaron’s Rent-a-Shop on Union Street, which rents furniture and electronics.Rosa said he expected more people to rent big-screen TVs for the game. But he’s only rented two since the Pats corralled the Denver Broncos last week, he said.”I thought we would have been renting big screens left and right,” he said.Sully’s Tees Inc., a Boston sporting-goods store in Peabody, has had so much business this season it opened up a second location at Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers, said manager Frank Baird.Baird said Sully’s tried the pop-up shop last year at the mall, but sales fell off after the Patriots lost to the rival New York Jets in last season’s playoffs.If the Patriots win Sunday, Dick’s Sporting Goods in the Square One Mall in Saugus will stay open late Sunday night and open at 6 a.m. Monday to sell AFC Championship gear, said Danny Christiansen, a senior account executive with Dick’s.Revere resident Ron O’Connor already has Patriots gear. He was wearing his special-edition Super Bowl 2007 Championship hat while shopping this week at Square One.But if the Pats go all the way this year, he said he’ll buy another.”I’ll get one for my son, too,” he said.But Lynn resident Blake Rickerson said he doesn’t see a reason to spend money on what he says is over-priced apparel.”Am I gonna buy a $65 whatever? No. I’d rather spend that money on dress pants,” he said.Lynn resident Paris Wikey, also shopping at Square One Mall, said he won’t buy more Pats gear because he doesn’t need to.”I do (buy apparel) all year long,” Wikey said. “My whole basement is covered in Pats gear.”Amber Parcher may be reached at [email protected].