QUINCY – Attendance is off this year compared to the last two times the Babe Ruth World Series visited  Quincy, but a major hotel and some local restaurants are still reporting an uptick in business.
   City officials say they have no estimate of how much money the families of players from nine states and fans will have spent by Saturday, when the series wraps up.
   Estimates  prior to the  2003 series were around  $2 million.
    The world series has boosted business at the Marriott Hotel during  what is normally a slow month,  Assistant General Manager Paul Evafick said.
     Seven teams and their families are staying at the hotel. “It’s meant about 100 rooms a night since last Friday,” he said.
    Six hundred people attended the league dinner at the hotel last Friday.
   Several other local hotels reported a smattering of customers in town for the ball games.
   Some 60,000 attended the 2003 series, and  the 2005 attendance was 58,000, Dick Lombardi, Quincy Babe Ruth Committee president said.     Attendance was at 42,000 as of Wednesday, and expected to top 50,000 by the end of the series, he said.
   “I think the Olympics hurt us, and on Sunday night the Patriots were on TV; even though it was an exhibition game, people are still big Pats fans,” Lombardi said.
   The Babe Ruth League likes Quincy, he said. “They were pushing for us to do it last year. They were happy with the way things went here, but we just needed some time off.
       “Quincy has  things going for it.  On days off people can take the subway or boat to Boston, sightsee and go to the Cape.”
      Villa Rosa Restaurant hostess Donna Baker says take-out orders are up this week. “Monday night was really busy, probably because of the games,” she said.
   “We’ve been getting some of the kids and their families, maybe around 50 in all,” said Bill Rizzotti, owner of the Fowler House Restaurant on Hancock Street, a short distance from Adams Field where the games are being played.
   “We have definitely seen a measurable increase in restaurant visits and folks generally being around in the city, which means they’re spending money. As for a specific amount, it would be impossible for us to quantify,” said Chris Walker, spokesman for Mayor Thomas Koch.
   There’s no mistaking game-goers when they show up with kids in baseball uniforms,  Ted Broderick, host at the The Four’s Restaurant in Quincy Center said.
    “We had a group of 25 the other night, and we’ve been getting some in pretty much everyday,” he said.
   “We had a very good Wednesday night. It was extremely good,” said Debbie Williams, Manager at Alfredo’s Restaurant. She attributes that to the world series.
   And  Jennifer Gates says the games have been a plus at  Firefly’s Restaurant on Adams Street where she is a host. “We had some boys and families from California and a couple of large parties,” she said.
Attendance is down
60,000 in 2003
58,000  in 2005
42,000-51,000  estimate for this year
  
Source: Dick Lombardi, Quincy Babe Ruth Committee president