18-04-2025
Millions estimated in spending during The Boys From Oklahoma concert series
STILLWATER, Okla. (KFOR) — Hundreds of thousands of fans filled Boone Pickens Stadium last week for The Boys From Oklahoma concert series.
The concerts may now be over, but we're getting an idea of how much money it brought to town.
'I think it's safe to say extremely conservatively 20 million dollars, but I think we're going to find it's more than that in regard to direct visitor spending,' said Cristy Morrison, CEO and president of Visit Stillwater.
Morrison says there were fans from all around the world.
Stillwater sees massive economic boost from The Boys From Oklahoma
'We had individuals here from every state, we had about 30 that we know of from Canada, we had someone from Israel, we had someone from Argentina, and those are just the ones we've been able to track so far,' said Morrison.
Morrison says those visitors were new to Stillwater.
'We thought it would be opposite, but what ended up happening is 70 percent of those folks who bought tickets didn't have a previous relationship with OSU Athletics,' said Morrison.
For every dollar spent over the four-day event, the city got a cut through sales tax.
'Seeing a substantial increase in our sales tax is huge for us to do things like fix streets, pay police officers, so our operational budget is increased with an increase in our sales tax revenue,' said Mayor Will Joyce of the City of Stillwater.
Hotels filled up also impacts the city.
'We collect a visitors tax on those, helps pay for the visitor amenities that we build here in town,' said Mayor Joyce.
Big dollars spent also means good news for OSU Athletics. Proceeds from ticket sales, parking, and concessions go toward the university's Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) efforts.
News 4 asked for early estimates, but we were told they aren't available yet.
'I do know that there's all kinds of artists that I think are extremely interested in performing at Boone Pickens Stadium, and I'm very confident Cross Canadian Ragweed would like to come back as well,' said Morrison.
We're also getting numbers from first responders, and they say they're relatively low.
Over the four-day event, Stillwater Fire Department says they responded to five incidents, and Stillwater Police Department says there were 21 public intoxication and five DUI arrests.
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