Tulsa Soccer Tournament Attracts Thousands Of Kids, Millions Of Dollars

One of the largest regional soccer tournaments just wrapped up in Tulsa.

The Lexus Tulsa Cup brings thousands of players and their families to town for the weekend.

It was the biggest Lexus Tulsa Cup so far with more than 400 teams playing. And organizers say this year could bring in around $8 million to the area.

“This is pretty midway, St. Louis is a little bit further, Kansas City is a little bit further as well, so this is a good range for us," soccer dad Tim Luft said.

Luft drives all over the country from Little Rock taking his sons to soccer tournaments. This is the first year Luft and his boys experienced the Lexus Tulsa Cup.

"We've had a great time,” he said. “It's been good. We're staying downtown, and we've eaten at a couple restaurants down there, it's been great."

Luft is just one of hundreds of people from out of town sampling Green Country's sights and sounds during the tournament.

Tournament Assistant Site Director Zack Livingston said 2015 has been the biggest turnout yet.

"Six to seven thousand hotel rooms have been booked in the region including Muskogee, Bartlesville, and Glenpool," Livingston said.

And it's not just hotel rooms -- visitors are expected to spend millions at local restaurants and retailers.

"[Tulsa is] a big hotbed for soccer,” Livingston said. “People just don't realize it."

As the tournament grows, visitors say they'd like to come back.

"It's great, just this little bit of a drive to get this good of a competition is well worth it,” Luft said.