Downtown Tulsa Seeing A Large Economic Impact From Big Name Concerts

Thousands of fans headed to Tulsa from around the world for Bruce Springsteen Tuesday night.

Experts say each concert brings in hundreds of thousands of dollars to Tulsa restaurants, bars, and hotels. Lisa Gile is from Muskogee but came to downtown Tulsa to hear Bruce Springsteen. She says she noticed several people at nearby bars and restaurants after the concert.

"A lot of people were,” said Gile. “All the places were full, and there were cars just everywhere, I don't know where they were going to park!"

A Downtown Tulsa Partnership study showed ¾ of people who responded go to bars and restaurants before and after a concert. People who participated in the study said they spent anywhere from $50 to $100 on average.

"Where you have maybe 15 thousand people attending that concert, even if half of them are going out to eat beforehand or for a drink or dessert afterward, that is seven thousand people descending on our downtown supporting locally-owned small businesses and entrepreneurs,” said Brian Kurtz, the President/CEO of the Downtown Tulsa Partnership.

Kurtz says not only are Tulsans spending their money and keeping it here, but people from around the world are bringing money to the city.

"Our hotels in downtown are certainly seeing an uptick in occupancy as well,” said Kurtz. “We have not just Tulsans who are coming to these sorts of shows, but people descending on Tulsa from out of our market.”

Gile hopes with more music filling downtown, more businesses will start popping up.

"A lot of business,” said Gile. “And we need more places to eat right down here by the event centers."

Kurtz says he expects this trend to continue with big concerts coming to the BOK and other venues in Tulsa in the future. BOK Center leaders say the estimated amount of money people spend for big concerts can be up in the millions.

“Events at BOK Center attract visitors to our city which provides a significant economic impact to our community,” said Meghan Blood, the Director of Marketing for the BOK Center. “15 to 20 percent of the attendees at a concert are visiting Tulsa. This represents an estimated $600,000 to $850,000 in visitor economic impact per event. A major event like Bruce Springsteen represents an estimated $1.52 million in visitor spending to our community.”