DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF News) — The NCAA Women’s Final Four wrapped up in Dallas over the weekend, which means hotels and others in the event industry are setting their sights on the Texas legislature.
The NCAA is one of a handful of organizations that says it won’t bring marquee events to Texas if the state passes Senate Bill 6, also known as the bathroom bill.
“All of a sudden, the potential for business — that pie shrinks if the bathroom bill goes through,” said Bryan King, Director of Marketing and Sales at the Downtown Hyatt Regency hotel. “And that’s a concern.”
He says the Women’s Final Four was projected to have roughly a $30 million impact on the city — something that could be in jeopardy if the bill passes in the Texas House. The state of North Carolina overturned their version of the bill, which requires people to use the bathroom of the gender they were born as, late last month.
If it survives a House vote, Governor Greg Abbott would then have to sign it for it to become law.
“We’re obviously following it very carefully,” King said. “There’s a massive impact, and the NCAA is a good example of an organization that has said they will not come to a state or a city that supports the bathroom bill.”
