With NBA returning, downtown business clings to hope

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The NBA lockout is over, and now downtown businesses are gearing up for the shortened season.

At The Pub, a downtown bar located on Georgia Street across from Conseco Fieldhouse, owner Gordon Cocke said the NBA lockout has cost him thousands of dollars in business. He estimates The Pub would have lost between $150,000 and $200,000 dollars if this year’s NBA season had been canceled.

With the lockout over, Cocke is hopeful business will pick back up - but he knows there's no guarantee.

"We will see how the fans react to this,” he said. “Hopefully they will come back. And if they have a bad taste in their mouth because of the strike, … hopefully it will be gone and they will come back and support the team."

Cocke said he had to let some of his servers go this year because business was down. Between the troubled economy, construction on Georgia Street and the dismal Colts season, fewer customers have been stopping by for a drink or a bite to eat.

Pacers president Larry Bird talked Thursday about the team’s impact on the downtown area. The Indiana native and former NBA star said he is glad the NBA is back in business – glad for the players, for the fans and for the businesses.

"Outside of this building there are a lot of people hurting because we are not playing,” he said. “I'm really happy we are going back to work, and hopefully we can help some of those people who missed out in the last couple of months."