Downtown Tulsa Sporting Events Generate Revenue For Nearby Businesses

Almost every weekend, a new wave of sporting events draws visitors from across the state and beyond to Tulsa.

This weekend is no different with the Premier Nationals Basketball Tournament at the Cox Business Center.

"It's a tough competition," said player Damarius Wilson. 

Around the corner at the Residence Inn, he and his teammates are enjoying some quality time through a good post-game meal.

“We played one scrimmage and fill in game and then the first game, we won,” he said. 

He and his team are from Kansas City, Missouri, but he's no stranger to Tulsa.

“I’ve been to Tulsa before, I’ve been here twice,” he said. 

While the basketball games provide a thrilling experience for fans, it's the nearby businesses like the Residence Inn that are seeing the real slam dunk.

“We generate a lot of revenue for sure with everyone coming in,” said Samantha Burns.

She works at the hotel and says business is usually slow during the summertime, but when these events pop up, that changes.

“We get a lot of traffic just because we’re so close and it's really convenient to be able to walk over,” she said.

And the impact extends beyond nearby businesses. Joel Koester with the Tulsa Sports Commission says the city as a whole benefits.

"To date in 2024, we've already hosted collaboratively over 100 events here, which has had an economic impact of about 178 million dollars' worth of economic impact back into our communities,” he said.

So while the basketball tournament is in Tulsa for just the weekend, the impact will be felt long after the final whistle blows.