OKLAHOMA CITY — From the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s championship-level gameplay to the NCAA Softball Women’s College World Series with the 2028 Olympics on the horizon, Oklahoma City is primed to become a premier destination for sports and entertainment, according to the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber.
Last week, the chamber hosted four sports and entertainment professionals at the Petroleum Club to speak on how that momentum translates into long-term community impact. The Sports Business Journal recently ranked Oklahoma City as one of the top 50 best sports business cities.
The panel featured Paycom Center Marketing and Public Relations Director Lucy Albers, Tasha Houck-Barnett, sales and marketing director at Embassy Suites by Hilton — Oklahoma City Downtown; Oklahoma City Special Projects Manager Sue Hollenbeck and Michelle Matthews, associate vice president of fan development and retail for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Academy of Country Music recently named the Paycom Center as one of its 2026 finalists for top venue in country music during its 61st Annual Industry Awards.
Albers said the Paycom Center can’t attract events on its own. It needs the hotels, the restaurants and the city hotspots to successfully market the city.
“We’re telling them what else their visitors and guests can do while they’re here,” Albers said. “We’re promoting even public transport or the parks right across the street from us and the thriving food scene in Oklahoma City. We are selling the city, they can pick a Denver, a Dallas, a St. Louis. They can go anywhere they want, so we have to sell the city.”
In July, the Paycom Center is set to host WWE Friday Night Smackdown and UFC Fight Night, while the Boathouse District is set to host the International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Championships, the first time the championships have been held in North America in more than a decade.
The economic impact is estimated to be between $2.2 million and $4.3 million through lodging, restaurants, shopping and more. More than 10,000 lodging nights across local hotels and short-term rentals are expected.
“Almost everything we’re doing is like an audition to get the next thing,” Albers said. “We’re going to start with a smaller WWE event to get the televised WWE events to get the bigger ones. You start with a UFC event to hopefully get a bigger UFC event years down the road.”
The new under-construction multipurpose stadium being built south of Bricktown is already set to host professional soccer and a United Football League team.
Hollenbeck said Oklahoma City’s public and private partners work together to draw sports and entertainment.
“You can talk about all sorts of major cities in the United States, and honestly, those cities compete with one another,” Hollenbeck said. “They compete externally with one another, but internally they compete. We don’t necessarily have that here, and that’s an opportunity. That’s one of our strengths that we have.”
Matthews said the Thunder’s goal is to take Oklahoma City’s shared identity and talk about it nationally.
“One of my favorite stories is, you were here before the team, and you heard the letters OKC. If you were outside of that region, that would mean nothing to you,” Matthews said. “Those three letters were an airport acronym, right? And now, when you hear the words, OKC is immediately associated with a thriving city, a passionate fan base, and a community that’s ready for major events.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source journalrecord.com ’
