Here’s what Central Oregon sports bars are doing without Pac-12 football

(Update: Adding video, comment from bar owners)

Owners expecting lower sales, trying new ideas to bring in customers

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- This weekend was supposed to be the start of football season for the Ducks and Beavers.

But there won't be any Pac-12 games on TV at local sports bars this weekend.

"First reaction was, a stab to the heart,” John Nolan, the owner of the The Hideaway Tavern in Bend, told NewsChannel 21 on Friday. “Because obviously that's a huge part of our business, and obviously we've been looking forward to sports coming back.”

The postponement of the fall college football season means the next few months could prove difficult for Nolan.

"Saturdays are standing room only for Ducks games and Beaver games,” he said. “Without sports we don't have the big clientelle, because it's more of downtowner night."

Nolan said he was hoping to regain some percentage of lost sales this fall after being forced to reduce capacity since reopening in June.

"With sports (back) and the lack of seating, we're still closer to 65 or 70 percent (of revenue), potentially,” he said. “My fear is that we're going to be back stuck at 50 percent on those days."

Nolan said he is hoping other football leagues move to fill the void left by the Pac-12, and he's started to see some rebound.

Jacob Biber, owner of the Backyard Brick Oven Pizza and Pub, thinks he might have another solution, at least in part -- reruns of classic games.

"We do try to promote what games we have currently going,” Biber said. “And the nice thing is because we have 18 TVs throughout our entire place, each one of them capable of showing a different game, we're able to have every favorite rerun, every sort of segment there, playing."

Still, he said he expect business to be down around 20 percent this fall.

However, there's some new hope the Pac-12 could come back on schedule, or at least sooner rather than later.

Reports this week say the conference will reconsider its postponement after securing an agreement to provide rapid COVID-19 testing for its student athletes.

"That would absolutely be huge,” Biber said.