OKC preparing for yet another record-breaking WCWS

Record-breaking crowds packed USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium during the 2022 Women's College World Series

What figures to be yet another outstanding athletic event for Oklahoma City and sure to draw record-breaking crowds, the 2023 NCAA Division I Women’s College World Series runs June 1-9 at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium.

The event has been a mainstay in OKC since 1990, except for 1996 when it was moved to Columbus, Ga., to coincide with the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and in 2020 when it was cancelled due to COVID-19. Last year’s event broke attendance records for a WCWS, drawing more than 12,500 fans per session (not fans per day!). The stadium, which added 4,000 seats with an upper deck expansion in 2021, is already sold out for this year’s event.

Adam Wisniewski, vice president of sports business development for Visit Oklahoma City, a division of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, said the only tickets currently available to the public are on the secondary market.

“Seventy percent of those fans will be from out of town, which is pretty typical for this event,” he said. “The coolest thing about the extra seating will be the huge impact on hotels and local businesses, and just the overall economy, from the additional visitors who may be staying a few extra days for the College World Series.”

Although the official economic impact of last year’s WCWS on Oklahoma City is not yet fully known, it’s projected to be bigger than in previous years from an attendance standpoint. Previous data suggests the WCWS has brought in over $25 million into the Oklahoma City economy on an annual basis since the expansion. With an attendance record in their sights in 2023, the economic impact could be even higher.

Last year’s championship game between OU and Texas was broadcast nationally over ABC — the first time a WCWS game was played on a major television network. Wisniewski said the 1.2 million people who watched the broadcast were able to see why Oklahoma City is considered the “Softball Capital of the World” and what OKC has to offer as a sports or leisure destination.

“We were the tester and proved that the model could work for female sports,” Wisniewski said, noting that ABC also broadcasted the women’s Final Four in basketball for the first time earlier this spring. “Many more eyeballs got to see what we are capable of last year [as a host city].”

Making the event more accessible for fans traveling from their hotels to USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium and the Adventure District was a priority this year, Wisniewski said.

EMBARK is partnering with Visit OKC by providing bus service for $4 per person to the stadium during game days. Two dedicated buses will run 30-minute loops all day between the Oklahoma City Convention Center and the stadium. The $4 charge also gives them access to the downtown streetcars.

“If you are staying in Automobile Alley or Bricktown, for example, you can hop on the streetcar, which takes you right to the convention center, get off and then hop on the bus, get out to the stadium, enjoy the game, and then do it all right back the other direction,” Wisniewski said. “That is so incredibly convenient and will only cost you $4.”

Keeping fans happy is important, Wisniewski said, because they make a massive impact on local businesses.

“Many of those businesses rely on that surge of business over that nine or 10-day period to keep them afloat through the tougher months and through the course of a year,” Wisniewski said. “And, when you think about our relationship with softball and this event and how it can impact so many of our local citizens and our community-based organizations, that’s where you really beam with pride.”

This article originally appeared in the May 2023 edition of the VeloCity newsletter.