LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- While fans are excited for University of Louisville men's basketball to officially start the season on Monday, local businesses are also hoping to see a rebound this year.

Over the past three seasons, under three different head coaches, Louisville men's basketball went 25-71. The struggles meant less business for some downtown Louisville restaurants and bars.

Since 2015, the program has faced NCAA sanctions, including the loss of the 2013 national title and vacated wins as the result of the Katina Powell sex parties scandal involving recruits and players. Meanwhile, the 2017 FBI "pay-for-play" investigation into Louisville and other college basketball programs led to the ouster of former head coach Rick Pitino.

Attendance at Louisville men's games was 129,205 during the 2022-23 season, down 7% from the prior year and a drop of 71% from the highest annual attendance listed in the report: 443,320 in 2015-16.

And as a result, the amount of money spent inside the arena during those games has plummeted from a high of $5.4 million in 2016-17 to a low of $2.2 million in 2022-23, excluding the first years of the pandemic.

Local businesses around the arena in downtown Louisville also noticed the decline.

"It was hard on everybody," said Lissa Ramos with Sidebar. "This is our bread and butter for winter, and it's a pinnacle part of our community, ad we just lost traffic flow, and now it's coming back."

But Ramos has noticed an renewed energy after the hiring of new Louisville coach Pat Kelsey.

"With Kelsey, there's high energy in the air, and I think everybody has seen that for the last several months," Ramos said. "Even with our last two exhibition games, we saw a big influx and the crowds excited. The fans are ready. Downtown is ready."

Sidebar has added extra staff for the basketball games and plans to keep the kitchen open late after all games. That's the way it used to be for the restaurant and bar.

"We've been here since 2013 so we remember the big hey days, and we've seen the lulls, and we're ready for it to come back," Ramos said. "Everybody's on the same high level we are. Everybody's ready. We're staffed up. We're excited. It seems like it's been a couple years since we've been this excited about basketball."

Brandy Burson, assistant general manager at The Troll Pub Under the Bridge, said a new year and new coach has brought new energy to the area.

"They're excited, they're ready to go," Burson said. "We're volume based. As long as there are people in here, we're opening."

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