Cedar Park capitalizes on NHL lockout

"We are using data from a marketing study to target those people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area who have a high likelihood to travel to Cedar Park to watch hockey," she said. "Five of our hotels are offering discounts, plus Hemingway Bar and Grill is offering 10 percent off meals, and Reunion Grille will give a 20 percent discount under the 'Game Time' promotion."

Krampitz said Dallas Stars season ticket holders received emails about the promotion Dec. 12. Ad-word campaigns on Google, Bing and Yahoo will target Dallas-area Internet users who search for words such as "hockey" and "Dallas Stars," and lead them to the city's promotional page www.cedarparkfun.com/hockey. Facebook and a North Texas sports radio station will also feature ads to draw hockey fans to Cedar Park.

NHL games are canceled through Dec. 31, and Economic Development Director Phil Brewer said the next few weeks could be the ideal time for families to visit Cedar Park.

"The weekend of December 27 and 29 is a great time to visit Cedar Park," Brewer said. "It's right after Christmas, the kids are out of school and people are looking for something to do. We're rolling out the red carpet hospitality and offering great deals for families and sports fans looking for a few days of great sports fun."

The city generates a 7 percent hotel occupancy tax for each overnight stay as well as sales tax from visitors who make purchases while in Cedar Park. Krampitz said the ad campaign will show a new audience what Cedar Park has to offer.

"It's good for the Stars organization and also good exposure for the Cedar Park Center," she said. "We hope it encourages the North Texas audience to travel here again."