Click here for full coverage of the papal visit from the Philadelphia Business Journal
A new report all but confirms what restaurants and retailers have been saying: The papal weekend was bad for business.
Economic activity was cut by more than half for some businesses during Pope Francis' visit to Philadelphia this weekend, according to a report by City Controller Alan Butkovitz.
Restaurants within the "traffic box," or Francis Festival Grounds, reported business was at about 45 percent compared to a normal weekend, while retailers said it was at about 21 percent, according to the report.
“Several restaurants stated they were the hardest hit because they stocked up on supplies over the course of the week only to find that the demand never materialized,” Butkovitz said.
The city limited vehicular traffic during the papal weekend, forcing restaurants to stock up on supplies the week prior. Products, however, were allowed to be delivered from 12-4 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Mayor Michael Nutter, in an email, said he hopes this is Butkovitz's "last negative report" about the World Meeting of Families and papal visit, "since he has tried numerous times now to cast a negative perspective on this hugely successful event."
"Obviously the Controller missed Pope Francis' message and concerns about materialism and capitalism," Nutter continued. "This incredible event was for the purpose of the Holy Father to speak to those who wanted to hear a message of love, faith and importance of family.”
Nutter, in a press conference on Monday, said the papal visit's success was not based on the number of attendees.
"As the mayor noted yesterday, it was not designed as an economic development generator," Press Secretary Mark McDonald wrote in an email. "Some businesses decided to close, others stayed open and of the latter, each had to make personal decisions about hours and offerings. But ahead of the weekend, the city’s commerce department spent weeks working with businesses on issues related to deliveries, trash collection and the event impact."
McDonald said Nutter's administration believes those who watched the events on TV "gained a favorable impression of the city" and hopes it leads to more tourism.
Hotels, however, came out on top, according to the report. As previously reported, hotels were nearly 90 percent booked this weekend, but the report said hotel revenue was down "nearly a quarter of a million dollars due to a lack of catered events."
Businesses said staffing did not present a problem because "there were no customers and they found themselves overstaffed," the report says.
Butkovitz's report is pooled from a sample of only 41 respondents, but there are about 12,000 businesses within the Francis Festival Grounds, and about 400 in the secure vehicle perimeter, McDonald wrote in an earlier email to the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Butkovitz's office is conducting a more in-depth post-papal survey.