Women's College World Series Boosts Oklahoma City Economy

Oklahoma City leaders are expecting a home run for the local economy during the Women's College World Series, which began Thursday.

The tournament takes place at OGE Energy Field at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, featuring eight of the country's best softball teams.

Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will be competing for the national title. 

The event runs from June 1 through June 9 depending on how the championship finals play out. 

The top-ranked Sooners are hoping to earn their third straight title.

Adam Wisniewski, vice president of sports development at Visit Oklahoma City, said WCWS is a big boon for the economy.

"We're talking about, you know, 12,500 to 13,000 fans per game here at USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex over the course of the tournament," said Wisniewski. "That's going to equate to 115,000 people or more. So from an economic impact standpoint, we expect that to meet or exceed even $25 million dollars."

Wisniewski said that makes WCWS the most significant sporting event that Oklahoma City hosts all year.

"Typically, about 70% of those people are from outside the state of Oklahoma, which is something that's really exciting for us," said Wisniewski. "And we know that our hotels, our restaurants, and our attractions are very well aware of how many visitors we have here."

To help people get to the games, this year's tournament is more accessible.

"We've added an express bus service that takes people from Oklahoma City Convention Center square in the heart of downtown and brings them up and drops them off at the front door here at the stadium," Wisniewski said.

News 9 met several out-of-state fans outside the stadium on Thursday, including Madison and Jason John, Briley Kirby and Jackie Ward, who are from Illinois. They said they are rooting for Oklahoma because the team has been so good. The group, who's visiting Oklahoma City for the first time, plans to stay in the city through Monday.

"We went to the restaurants. Bricktown is really good. It was really nice," they said.

Wisniewski said this is the second year that WCWS is operating on an expanded nine-day schedule to ensure there is extra time for weather delays.

"We are really excited about that and I know our hotels are too because that's two extra days that people are staying in Oklahoma City and spending their outside dollars in our community," said Wisniewski.

Oklahoma City has been hosting WCWS for more than 30 years, said Wisniewski. 

The city's contract with the NCAA runs through 2035.