Matt WamplerCEO & Co-Founder, ClearCOGS · CEO & Co-Founder, ClearCOGS 🔪

1,500 Fans vs 30,000: The Surprising Impact of Local Events

3 Sept 2025 · 1 min

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0:40

In this segment, the speaker argues that the impact of an event on a nearby business depends more on proximity and the nature of the venue than on the event’s attendance size. He contrasts two scenarios: a 30,000‑person baseball game held one mile away, which had only a minimal effect on a local restaurant, and a 1,500‑person youth basketball tournament held just 0.2 miles away, which severely hurt the same restaurant. The restaurant’s layout—an arcade combined with a bar—means that after the tournament, parents want to drink while their children want to play games, creating a clash that drives customers away. The story is used to illustrate how small, nearby events can crush a business even when larger, farther events have little impact.

Chapters

We know that this type of event happening near this type of location or this type of business is gonna have this impact, and it doesn't need to have happened before. We told them one story and it blew their mind. And the one story was this baseball game had a minimal impact on your, on your business. It was 30,000 people, but it was happening within 1 mile. Here's what absolutely crushed you. It was a 1,500-person event for youth basketball that was happening 0.2 miles from them. Crushed them. Why? Their restaurant is split up between arcade and a bar. And what it is, is parents want to go have a drink after the tournament and the kids want to play the games.