Restart of Big 12 softball, baseball tourneys and WCWS is a grand slam for OKC

Several thousand college sports fans will be descending on Oklahoma City in May and June for the much-anticipated return of three popular athletic events that together have a huge economic impact for the Oklahoma City metro.

The Phillips 66 Big 12 softball and baseball championships will be played during the month of May, with the softball championship held at the USA Hall of Fame Stadium Complex, May 14-15, and the baseball championship, May 26-30, inside the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Then from June 3-9, the NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS) makes its return visit to Oklahoma City and the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex.

All three events were canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even in 2019, officials were forced to cancel all Saturday day games during the Big 12 softball tournament due to severe thunderstorms that rolled into the city. So, in essence, a full schedule of games has not been played in Oklahoma City since 2018.

The likelihood of more inclement weather in 2021 is a distinct possibility. That does not bother Sue Hollenbeck, however, who is the director of sports business at the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau. She said with the recent renovations to the softball complex, including a new upper deck, locker rooms and drainage system, the threat of cancellations has been greatly diminished.

“Even if we do get rain this year, the new drainage system is so incredible that even if they did not get the tarp on the playing surface, it will still drain very quickly. If we had to postpone games for an hour or two, we could still play games on the main field,” Hollenbeck said.

Although COVID-19 numbers are down in the state and the venues are outside, Hollenbeck said fans can expect attendance for the Big 12 softball and baseball championships to be at 50% capacity with masks and social distancing required. Capacity for the WCWS now stands at 25%; however, capacity could increase depending on future COVID numbers.

“Even though we are going to be at 25% capacity, or maybe even 50%, we are still going to see a large amount of people come into town for the WCWS,” Hollenbeck said. “It has so many ripples that come from it, and so when you lose a big event like that as we did in 2020, it is a huge deal. Not having the WCWS last year was a big loss financially for the city,” she said.

Hollenbeck noted that, lumped together, the Big 12 softball and baseball championships and WCWS conservatively add about $26 million to the Oklahoma City economy. The WCWS is by far the largest contributor at $24 million when at full capacity.

Softball fans are some of the best fans in the world, according to Hollenbeck. Approximately 70% of all tickets sold to the 2019 WCWS were to people out of state, she said.

“They are the best tourists. So many of them stay in hotels downtown because they are familiar with that area and it is so walkable and easy to get around. They eat out and visit many of the attractions around the city and are always looking to explore and visit new attractions,” Hollenbeck said.

This will be the final year for the Big 12 Baseball Championships in Oklahoma City as it moves south of the Red River to Arlington, Texas, where it will have a three-year run inside the Texas Rangers’ new ballpark. The WCWS will remain in Oklahoma City, however, at least through 2035, which will allow for even more people, including returning visitors and first-time visitors, a chance to experience all of what Oklahoma City has to offer.

“We have shown consistently that we do an excellent job, and we have the people who want to support it and the community that wants to support it. We are very blessed with the Chesapeake Energy Arena, the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, the USA Softball Hall of Fame park. We have some excellent venues that we work with and we have a tradition of putting on really good events,” Hollenbeck said.

To purchase tickets for the Big 12 softball or baseball championships, visit the Big 12 at Big12sports.com. WCWS tickets can be purchased by visiting NCAA.org or going through the NCAA Ticket Exchange.

This story originally appeared in the May 2021 edition of The Point.