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Rhode Island
Winter Sporting Events Bring In Estimated $18 Million To Rhode Island | ABC6
There is sure to be sports madness in and around Providence this March, but the much-anticipated NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship is just the cherry on top of a winning winter for sports tourism in Rhode Island.
In the first quarter of 2025 alone, sporting events and sports-related meetings booked by the Rhode Island Sports Commission, a division of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau (PWCVB), will generate nearly $18 million in estimated direct spending. That figure is calculated based on 15 sporting events, over 22,000 contracted hotel room nights, and 78,550 estimated attendees in Providence, Warwick, and surrounding communities throughout January, February, and March.
“We are a thriving sporting events destination, and that’s not just because we traditionally have top-ranked teams to root for. Providence and Warwick are in-demand destinations when it comes time to organizing and operating sporting events. From recreational and participatory sports that book tournaments, clinics, and camps to some of the largest nationally televised championships– it all takes place here in RI,” said Jonathan Walker, senior director of sports sales for the Rhode Island Sports Commission. “These events fill hotel rooms, book space in our convention center, bring in families and fans from across the country, and utilize facilities around the state. All of that means business for Rhode Island.”
In the winter months, indoor sports such as cheerleading, gymnastics, volleyball, basketball, and ice hockey provide a much-needed boost to hotel occupancy in Providence and Warwick, which helps compress the market across the state.
“The economy relies heavily on business booked by the Rhode Island Sports Commission,” added Tom Riel, senior vice president of the PWCVB. “These events are crucial to filling rooms during the winter months when leisure travel is traditionally light. Sports accounts for more than 75% of the total room nights, attendees, and estimated direct spending generated by events in Q1. This business spreads far beyond Providence and Warwick as attendees travel to courts, ice rinks, and gyms throughout the state.”
“The proximity and abundance of our venues play a key role in our ability to retain regional events and attract large-scale events to Rhode Island,” says Walker. “Our facility footprint is impressive for our size, and it’s continuously evolving with the growth of our annual events and the demand for new events.”
The 15 events include a pair of 15,000-attendee cheerleading competitions at the Rhode Island Convention Center and back-to-back weekends of NCAA Championships at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Ice rinks in Cranston, North Smithfield, Pawtucket, and Woonsocket will welcome crowds of hockey visitors for holiday tournaments while basketball players and families visit the 187,000-square-foot Longplex Family & Sports Center in Tiverton and several collegiate and interscholastic facilities across the state. A breakdown of some key events is below:
2025 Nike New England Winterfest (Girls Volleyball) – 2,384 contracted hotel rooms and $1,445,115.00 in estimated economic impact.
2025 CCM MLK Invite (Boys Ice Hockey) – 2,426 contracted hotel rooms and $1,312,719.06 in estimated direct economic impact.
2025 Athletic Championships Grand Nationals (Cheerleading) – 2,576 contracted hotel rooms and $2,416,301.23 in estimated direct economic impact.
2025 Nike VolleyFest-Providence (Boys & Girls Volleyball) – 2,455 contracted hotel rooms and $1,464,543.10 in estimated direct economic impact.
2025 NCAA DIII Wrestling Championships – 1,206 contracted hotel rooms and $890,299.74 in estimated direct economic impact.
2025 Spirit Fest Grand Nationals (Cheerleading) – 2,383 contracted hotel rooms and $2,996,917.57 in estimated direct economic impact.
2025 NCAA DI Men’s Basketball Championship – 1st & 2nd Rounds – 4,602 contracted hotel rooms and $3,764,738.17 in estimated direct economic impact.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island shifts its primary to Wednesday, Sept. 9, easing a Labor Day poll setup crunch
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Rhode Island’s primary elections will now be held on Wednesday, Sept. 9, moving it back from the typical Tuesday election day because it fell too close to Labor Day.
Gov. Dan McKee, a Democrat, signed off on the change earlier this week. The primary election had been scheduled for Sept. 8, which is the day after the holiday weekend.
State and local officials had requested the change after raising concerns about having enough time to set up polls for voters. However, under the legislation enacted, the filing deadlines will remain the same.
“We have to set up over 400 polling places around the state on the day before the election,” Nick Lima, the registrar and director of elections for the city of Cranston, told lawmakers at a hearing in January. “That’s very difficult to do on a holiday because many of our polls are schools, social halls and churches.”
It’s not unusual for states to change their election day. Lawmakers in neighboring Massachusetts changed the state’s 2026 primary election day from Sept. 15 to Sept. 1, arguing that doing so will help improve voter turnout.
Only four states hold their primary elections in September: Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Delaware, which has the latest primary date in the U.S., taking place this year on Sept. 15.
Legislation seeking to move up Delaware’s primary election by several months has been introduced in the statehouse, but previous attempts to do so have stalled.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
CUMBERLAND, R.I. (WPRI) — Rhode Island State Police are investigating a crash that happened on I-295 North in Cumberland Tuesday night.
The crash happened in the right lane near Exit 22 just before 9 p.m.
It’s unclear exactly what caused the crash or if anyone was injured.
12 News has reached out to Rhode Island State Police for more information but has not heard back.
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Scandals shake up Capitol Hill ahead of midterm elections
Congressional reporter Zachary Schermele dives into the latest scandals on Capitol Hill and how they’re shaking up politics ahead of midterms.
Rhode Island’s Democrat and Republican primary elections will officially be held on Wednesday, Sept. 9 this year, instead of the usual Tuesday election day.
Lawmakers passed the bill at the urging of state and local officials, who were concerned that an election day falling the day after Labor Day would not give them enough time to set up polls for the arrival of voters.
Gov. Dan McKee signed the bill on April 20, officially moving the primary day for 2026.
Which races will be on the ballot? The Republican and Democrat nominees for a swath of local offices – most notably governor but also lieutenant governor and attorney general.
Why was RI’s primary day moved?
At a hearing on the bill earlier this year, Randy Rossi, executive director of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns explained the “significant logistical and financial challenges” municipalities otherwise would have faced having an election the day after Labor Day.
“Beyond cost, municipalities face serious logistical challenges accessing and setting up more than 430 polling locations on a major federal holiday, a process that often requires many hours and access to facilities that are typically closed and unstaffed on Labor Day,” he said.
“Compounding these challenges, many municipalities conduct early voting in city or town halls that must also serve as primary day polling locations,” Rossi noted.
Without changes to current law, he said, “municipalities would be required to conduct early voting and primary day polling simultaneously, often in the same limited space and with the same poll workers, requiring additional staffing and facilities.”
By the time this legislative hearing took place in January, other states facing similar issues, including Massachusetts, had already adjusted their primary dates, “and Rhode Island itself has demonstrated that alternative scheduling can be successful, as occurred during the statewide Wednesday primary in 2018,” Rossi said.
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