Seattle Expects Bounce From Final Four Frenzy

While Major League cities reluctantly embrace replacement baseball, Seattle this weekend will get an economic boost when it hosts the widely followed Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament.

The NCAA’s most glamourous event will fill the dreary Kingdome with thousands of fans, coaches, NCAA officials and tourists who have three days to pump millions of dollars into the King County economy.

Tip-off for the national semifinals is Saturday afternoon; the championship game is April 3. Some tourism and sports officials have said the Final Four could be the last major national sporting event played in the Kingdome, unless improvements are made to the facility.

The baseball season, which is not expected to provide its usual economic stimulus, opens Sunday.

In other events this week:

Today

The Specialty Food Industry meets at the Coeur d’Alene Resort through Tuesday for its Northwest Gourmet Getaway Conference. Call 1-800-688-5253.

National Association of Realtors reports existing home sales for February.

Tuesday

Global Federal Credit Union holds its annual meeting at 5:30 p.m. at W1520 Third Ave.

Northwest Public Power Association hosts a customer relations workshop at Cavanaugh’s Inn at the Park. Call the Spokane Convention & Visitors Bureau at 624-1341.

An ISO 9000 seminar on “How to Select the Registrar and Pass the Audit” will be conducted by the Training and Education Coordinating Center of the Community Colleges of Spokane at N3939 Freya. Cost: $250. Call 533-4705.

The Conference Board in New York issues monthly survey on consumer confidence.

Conference on small business held in Durban, South Africa, in conjunction with U.N. Conference on Trade and Industry.

Wednesday

Business to Business Tour begins on East Sprague at 1 p.m. Cost: $20. Call 459-4111.

The Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Spokane will hold a 6:30 p.m. workshop on “Homebuying in Today’s Market” at 1912 N. Division. Gary Wisben, an instructor for the Washington and Idaho associations of Realtors, will conduct the class. Cost: $20. Call 327-3777 or 1-800-892-6854.

William Conerly, senior vice president of First Interstate Bank, gives an economic outlook for 1995 to the Inland Northwest Treasury Management Association noon luncheon on the fifth floor of the Shilo Inn, 923 E. Third. Cost: $10 members; $12 non-members; $13 at the door. Call Ken Hill at 353-4109.

Thursday

The International Conference of Newspaper Financial Executives hosts its annual Northwest Regional Conference of Newspaper Executives at Cavanaugh’s River Inn. Call the Spokane Convention & Visitors Bureau at 624-1341.

Friday

Federal Open Market Committee releases minutes of its Jan. 31 meeting.

Commerce Department reports factory orders for February.

MEMO: This is a sidebar which appeared with story:

ON THE SHELF Business Week, March 27: The success of Myst, the bestselling CD-ROM game created by Spokane’s Cyan Inc., is one the reasons Business Week ranks Broderbund Software as the fourth most valuable small company (less than $150 million in annual sales) in the nation.

Declining industries Industries whose total market value dropped the most over the last 12 months, as ranked by Business Week. (Change in market value in parenthesis.) Discount and fashion retailing: (-$24,818 million) Cars and trucks: (-$20,264 million) Entertainment: (-$16,547 million) Telephone companies: ($13,663 million) Electric utilities: (-$13,235 million) Forest products: (-$10,072 million)