Sports Tourism in Oklahoma Continues to Surge

Edmond, Norman, Oklahoma City and Stillwater are drawing big sports events

As sports tourism numbers continue to climb across the country, Oklahoma has proven to be one of the fastest growing sports destinations.

As recently as 2022, statewide tourism generated an impressive $11.8 billion for the Oklahoma economy, and with an influx of big events having come to the Sooner State, and even bigger ones on the horizon, that number is expected to grow considerably.

Here are some cities that will figure prominently in the state’s growth in ensuing years.

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Edmond, OK for Sports

Known for its welcoming community and expansive sports complexes, Edmond is becoming a favored site for regional tournaments. With more than 25 sports facilities attracting teams from across the region, athletes will find ballfields, arenas, courts, greens, pools and parks to play every sport.

Recently, the City of Edmond broke ground on a $15 million renovation to the A.C. Caplinger Sports Sports Complex. The fields at this complex typically see 120 teams participating in spring and fall leagues with an additional 50 or 60 playing in the summer leagues. The complex also hosts packed tournaments nearly every weekend from early spring through the fall.

Edmond’s Mitch Park is also a great place for tournaments. This expansive 280-acre park has five softball diamonds and four baseball diamonds as well as five miles of paved, multi-use trails. It also sports a disc golf course.

For those who prefer ice sports, Arctic Edge Ice Arena hosts University of Central Oklahoma Hockey tournaments with one taking place in 2024 and one in 2025.

Sports Attractions in Norman

Norman is home to the University of Oklahoma, where college football fever ignites each fall.

OU football games are a big part of the student experience, especially on Saturdays in the fall. Massive crowds gather at the Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, which is one of the largest college football stadiums in the country. Also known as the “Palace on the Prairie”, Memorial Stadium seats 80,126 and has sold out every regular season home game since 1999.

Norman also hosted the 2023 World Series of Beep Baseball. The tournament took place at the Gillis-Rother Soccer Complex and featured some of the world’s best blind and low-vision athletes. In beep baseball, the larger-than-regulation-sized ball beeps to tell low-vision and blind players where it is, and a sighted pitcher stands 20 feet out.

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Oklahoma City for Sporting Events

Oklahoma City has been in the spotlight of late, having recently hosted the 2024 Olympic Team Trials for canoe/kayak slalom at RIVERSPORT OKC in April. RIVERSPORT is a $45.2 million whitewater center that opened in May 2016 in the city’s downtown Boathouse District. RIVERSPORT’s whitewater center includes an Olympic caliber racecourse which has hosted U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Canoe Slalom (2016 and 2024) and Kayak Cross (2024) as well as numerous national competitions.

The trials set the stage for a potential partnership with the LA28 Olympics, as LA28 has publicly recommended that canoe slalom, kayak cross, and softball events be relocated to Oklahoma City. This would be an unprecedented move which now just awaits an approval vote by LA City Council which is expected by the end of 2024. RIVERSPORT is proposed to host the Olympic canoe and kayak competitions in 2028 while Olympic softball would take place in the 13,000-seat Devon Park, which hosts the annual NCAA Women’s College World Series. Oklahoma City has hosted the NCAA Women’s College World Series since 1990 (except for one year in 1996), and the event draws more than 110,000 fans annually to the “Softball Capital of the World.”

Devon Park resides on the grounds of USA Softball’s headquarters and the USA Softball Hall of Fame. From 2013 to 2015, the facility added dugouts, underground locker rooms and training rooms. Renovations to the outer entrances and press box area began in 2018, and a three-story press box was added with new interview rooms around that time. About 4,000 permanent seats were added after the 2019 World Series.

Sports Attractions in Stillwater, Oklahoma

Oklahoma State University in Stillwater continues to be the home of one of the most successful programs in college athletics. With 52 national team championships, countless conference titles, and some of the top individual performances in NCAA history, OSU Athletics is a vital part of the Stillwater experience.

Boone Pickens Stadium, home to the Oklahoma State football team, is now a state-of-the-art facility that not only provides the Cowboys football team with a unique game-day environment, but also with unrivaled facilities for daily operations located in incredibly convenient proximities. The stadium officially opened a new south side in 2004, a new north side in 2006 and in 2009 finished the west end zone project. The result is a 55,000-seat stadium that draws boisterous crowds that make Oklahoma State football gamedays can’t miss events.

Stillwater has also hosted the NCAA Baseball Championship Stillwater Regional at O’Brate Stadium while Tulsa hosts the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at the BOK Center.