Colombia's National Team party does not move commerce in Barranquilla

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On Tuesday, at 10:00 am, Yurley Torres did not hide her joy because the first sale of the day had been for a Colombia soccer team shirt. "I already made the name of God," said the woman, somewhat agitated.

Torres' joy has a reason. The party of the national team against Venezuela, this you come, has not moved sales in local commerce. In the past, he had already sold between 30 and 50 shirts by now.

The decision of the National Government not to open the doors of the Roberto Meléndez Metropolitan Stadium was felt in the streets of Barranquilla, which awaited the arrival of tourists and visitors, who always demand consumption in restaurants, hotels, taxis, stables and commerce in general. "They always wear a souvenir t-shirt or cap," says Torres.

For this game everything seems to be quiet. Sales and the movement of trade generated by each arrival of the Colombian National Team were affected by the coronavirus, which forced the authorities to maintain a series of restrictions, seeking to avoid a re-outbreak of the virus.

"We have been in selection mode since the weekend, hopefully this improves," says the woman, who has one of the 99 stores in Gallery 72, located in the lower part of the Romelio Martínez Stadium.

Near the Yurley Torres premises is the position of Alexis Herrera, who has been working in this area for 25 years. For this match, he says, he took out the shirts and accessories that were left from the last round, because they did not want to risk too much.

"We only order the missing sizes, this is hard," says the man who had not yet sold the first accessory of the selection on Tuesday.

What moves a party

The matches of the Colombia team have always generated a great movement in the local economy. Situation that has been studied by unions such as the Barranquilla Chamber of Commerce.

This is reflected by measurements such as those carried out for the soccer meeting between Colombia and Bolivia, on March 23, 2017. The Chamber of Commerce calculated that that party moved about 15,521 million pesos, that is, 5.3 million dollars, of which 44.4 percent corresponded to the ticket office; 41.7 percent to expenses related to food, internal transportation, among others, and the remaining 13.9 percent to hotel and lodging expenses for people who visit the city.

"If the value of the ticket office is excluded, the economic spill for Barranquilla stands at 2.9 million dollars, a not inconsiderable figure," say the analysts, indicating that the indicated amount represented 0.05 percent of the department's GDP. of the Atlantic.

In other words, this match of the Colombia team in Barranquilla represents approximately 17.3 percent of the departmental daily production, which is estimated at 89,783 million pesos.

Hit places

According to the studies of the Chamber of Commerce, the most frequented places to watch the games on television are streets 72 and 74, in the surroundings of La Troja, with 27 percent, followed by the sector of races 8 and 21 , and Ciudadela 20 de Julio, in the south, with 22, 19 and 17 percent, respectively.

However, for this party there will be no movements in these sectors, since many of these establishments still remain closed, some awaiting the District's permission to open under biosecurity measures and with limited capacity.

One of those that has already entered the pilot plan was La Troja, which reopened its doors last weekend. In a match in normal times, this staging reaches a capacity of up to 1,000 people.

"We aspire that the mayor will increase the capacity to 10 tables, to 50, we are respectful and abide by the rules, to avoid that all this effort goes to waste", says Edwin Madera, owner of La Troja, who is offering reservations at his establishment for people who are interested in attending the site to watch the game on television. "We have to invent something to drive sales," says Madera.

The still Center

The World Cup qualifiers is an event that will not only focus the attention of football fans, but also energize various sectors of the trade.

One of these sectors is the Center of Barranquilla, where the city's economy moves with great force, especially in the matches of the Colombian National Team.

The manager of the Center, Angelo Cianci, recognizes that in this area the soccer atmosphere that is breathed in every game of the past is not yet felt, but he trusts that as the time approaches the Barranquilla players will cheer up.

While Dina Luz Pardo, director of Asocentro, an entity that brings together some 600 merchants, assures that for some time the formal commerce of the Center has not benefited from this type of event because informal vendors monopolize this type of sales in the streets .

"People get everything on the street and it is difficult to compete," he says, emphasizing that it is unfair competition.

For union sectors such as Fenalco Atlántico they do not have great expectations about the movement that the economy will have that day.

“This time it will not be as positive as on other occasions due to the limitations of attendance, the stables where people gather are limited in capacity. The truth is that it can be a little better than a normal day, ”says the chairman of the board of directors of Fenalco Atlántico, Rafael Madero.

Reactivation, little by little

The Secretary of Economic Development of the District, Ricardo Plata, asks the Barranquilla residents to maintain order and control so far to continue advancing in the economic reactivation plan of the city.

"We know that this process of reactivating some activities in the tourism value chain, such as flights and the accommodation sector, will take place little by little," said Plata.

The official indicated that at this time the mayor's office continues to prepare so that, when the National Government gives a free pass for the controlled capacity of the public in sports venues, “we can receive with all the biosafety measures the thousands of Colombians who want to return see your Selection at home ".

Plata was optimistic because Barranquilla's economy is rebounding, and these kinds of special dates have been key. Currently, 22,018 establishments and companies from all sectors have registered their biosecurity protocols with the Mayor's Office of Barranquilla.

"We continue to monitor the results of the first week of the pilot for the gradual reopening of bars in Barranquilla to assess the viability of its expansion and eventual authorization of other establishments," said the official.

Meanwhile, Yurley Torres and Alexis Herrera continue to trust in the fervor of the Barranquilleros for the national team and hope that as the time of the game approaches, people will go out to buy the shirts and accessories of the tricolor.