FINAL FOUR BROUGHT AMBUSH OF FANS, AND MONEY, TO SAN ANTONIO

          One long weekend of March Madness in San Antonio put
     $45.7M in the hands of local businesses, according to an
     economic impact study released yesterday and cited by Travis
     Poling of the SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS.  An estimated 47,000
     visitors spent an average of $225 a day during the NCAA Final
     Four.  The average visitor stay during the tournament was 4.2
     days.  Poling reports that the numbers "differ drastically"
     from estimates made by the Convention & Visitors Bureau
     before the tournament, which predicted an economic impact of
     $14M spent by about 42,000 visitors.  San Antonio is
     currently bidding on a men's regional tournament in 2003,
     another men's Final Four in 2004 and may also bid for the
     2007 Pan American Games.  The city will host the 2002 women's
     Final Four tournament, whose economic impact has been
     predicted at up to $40M (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 5/20).