in our Spotlight on Business Report after being shut out of the NHL playoffs for the last several seasons the New Jersey Devils are back and facing off tonight in Newark against rival New York Rangers in the second game of the first round series it's both good news for fans and the state's bottom line because the deeper the playoff run the better the odds for a good economic boost in the area not to mention the Tri-State draw for fans the two teams Arenas are separated by just 14 miles and the Hudson River for more I'm joined by John reitmeyer hockey Aficionado and our budget and finance writer John so this is a piece that you put together with Madeleine forens from our team I'm thinking people aren't just buying tickets they're getting a beer and a burger before the game yeah that's absolutely the case and so when you think about the excitement for the New Jersey Devils right now or or even maybe Rangers fans who live in the area who are coming to watch the games in person when the teams are performing well that's good for business also because that means fans are getting together before the game to maybe have a beer before they head inside and maybe you know sticking around afterward uh after the game and and going out again in the area to kind of recount how it went you know which whichever team you root for and so that's all good for the bottom line for the team itself but also for the area businesses and they certainly could use a boost still coming out of the covid-19 pandemic yeah for sure so did State economists give you a dollars and cents amount for what we typically might see with a playoff run you know it's it's hard to put a precise number on it we've seen projections from other teams at times what we do know is that the the regular season ended and so these are all games that are added to this schedule so it's all extra you know the the ticket sales merchandise sales concession sales in the arena outside the arena people going to those bars and restaurants using New Jersey Transit perhaps to get to the games these are all things that add to the bottom line staying at a hotel and if if the Devils can go on a long playoff run and that remains to be seen not only exponentially increases what can be generated in terms of economic impact I have to think though too the fact that they're playing the Rangers I haven't played them since 2012. correct me if I'm wrong there it's going to bring in people from the Tri-State so that's got to be an even bigger help for the restaurants and businesses here in Newark absolutely you would think that that adds to the demand for those tickets and and prices go up when you get to the playoffs and so certainly it's a hot ticket right now you know if the Devils can go deeper into the playoffs you would see typically people coming in from out of town and they would be staying in our hotels and and visiting our restaurants say if they come for the the two games that are played in New Jersey and so that's something we have to keep an eye on going forward if they're lucky enough to advance all right let me switch gears you mentioned people might be taking New Jersey transit to get to the games we got some budget information this week about the forecast for the Transit Agency what can you tell us yeah absolutely and so the state budget's coming together right now for the fiscal year that begins on July 1 and so is New Jersey transit's budget and so in the short term it's a balanced budget and they look to be doing fine even while waiting for a ridership to rebound to pre-pandemic levels which it has yet to do but that's because they're getting a big dose of Federal covid-19 Aid basically and that's helping to balance the budget in the short term it's in the out years that there are real big concerns uh or alarms being raised right now because it looks like the agency is facing huge deficits in future years when that federal aid starts to to go away and that you know raises concerns about things like Fair hikes or or service cutbacks and so that'll be something to keep a really close eye on going forward all right John reitmeyer for us and we noticed your hockey trophy there in the background it didn't go unnoticed John thanks so much you're welcome [Music]