Hoteliers in and around Providence hope to see crowded lobbies later this week as basketball fans head to Rhode Island for the opening rounds of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

The money those people spend to stay in Rhode Island from Wednesday to Sunday could add some momentum to the state’s sputtering hotel sector, just weeks after it turned in its first positive results in more than a year.

Hotel room-tax receipts turned positive in January, up 11.2 percent from January 2009 — the latest available results, according to Rhode Island tax data.

Providence is one of eight cities hosting the tournament’s opening rounds, with six-game sets played at each location. Eight teams will come to Rhode Island to play in the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, during four games on Thursday and two on Saturday.

The NCAA designated eight hotels in and around Providence where the teams, association officials and media members will stay while they’re here.

The eight colleges are: Georgetown University, Ohio University, University of Tennessee, San Diego State University, Villanova University, Robert Morris University, University of Richmond and St. Mary’s College.

Already, there are 3,500 room-nights booked in the hotels to accommodate players and others from those schools and organizations.

Drawing marquee teams with loyal followings can bring 10,000 to 20,000 people to opening-round sites in the annual three-week-long NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament, something on which people in the state’s tourism industry are counting.

“Hopefully, we’ll draw some fans that want to spend a night,” said Martha Sheridan, president and chief executive officer of the Providence-Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The business comes at a typically slack time of the year for the state’s hotels. Typically, March accounts for just 5 percent of room taxes the state gets annually from Rhode Island’s hotels. December through February is worse.

Providence hotel representatives are pleased with the prospects for extra business.

“We certainly welcome the additional business in what is typically a slow time of year,” said Ralph Izzi, a spokesman for the management group that owns the Hilton and Westin hotels in Providence.

The rooms they do rent are likely to go at a premium.

Rooms at the Villa Dolce Vita, a 14-room boutique hotel on Federal Hill are renting $100 a night above the typical rates of $159 to $299, said owner Gianfranco Marrocco.

“That only happens during college graduation [weeks] or New Year’s Eve,” Marrocco said. “I wish it happened every day.”

“This is at the perfect time of year,” said Warwick’s mayor, Scott Avedisian, where three locations will serve as team hotels. “This is [the hotels’] low period.”

The hotels designated as team sites won’t know until later in the week how many of the rooms the NCAA asked them to set aside will be used, Izzi noted. At some point, the hotels will be free to give those rooms to fans making their way here for the games.

“There are definitely still rooms to be had,” Sheridan said. “However, many hotels are reaching capacity for the early days of the tournament.

“Based on this preliminary information, we are confident that this event will have a positive impact on the hotel community.”

pgrimald@projo.com