NCAA basketball tournament brings economic boost to Norman

NORMAN, Okla. (KFOR) — The City of Norman saw an economic boost over the last few days thanks to the women’s NCAA basketball tournament.

“It is super exciting for the community, for the city, for Lloyd Noble and the fans that are here,” said Dan Schemm the President and CEO of Visit Norman. 

The Sooners earned a 3 seed in their region of the Big Dance, which means they hosted first and second round games of the tournament at Lloyd Noble Center. 

"I mean, it's just a great fun time to watch basketball,” said Kolsen Tharp, an OU student. 

Not only are sports fans thrilled, but so are Norman businesses. 

“With Spring Break hitting, normally we expect it to be just a flat time,” said Aubrey Marberry, a manager at Gladiator Cannabis. “But with the tournament being in town, we've actually seen almost an uptick to where we're almost a little bit busier than when the kids are here." 

Schemm told KFOR we won’t know the exact numbers for a few weeks but expects that the games brought in tens of thousands of dollars. 

"The hotels saw a big boost,” said Schemm. “And when you come all this way, you want to shop at our local places, you want to eat at our local restaurants." 

Paul Fisher took a flight from Atlanta to catch the games. 

Meanwhile, Marty Polka drove more than 500 miles to cheer on his Hawkeyes. 

"The energy today is going to be really, really good, and I can't wait to see it,” said Polka.