Oklahoma City Thunder brings boom to Metro businesses

Local businesses that saw near record-breaking numbers for Game 6 of the NBA Finals told News 9 on Friday that they are preparing for even higher numbers for Game 7. 

A few bars News 9 spoke with shared that they will be opening early on Sunday, with more food trucks, bartenders, TVs and fan gear. 

"People feel like watching the game is a community activity. It's hard to do at home with your TV. You want to be with someone else when the big win happens. So, I definitely think we're seeing a lot of impact to restaurants,” said Cynthia Reid, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications with the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce. 

The Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce said the NBA Finals have brought lots of business and attention to the city. 

"I was with the downtown hotel here this morning and he told me that they've been booked solid for quite some time and that's a combination of Women's College World Series, the NBA Finals. We've got a number of groups in town right now, so this is a good time to be in the hotel and restaurant business if you're downtown," said Reid. 

One local bar said business boomed on the day of Game 6. 

"It's not uncommon for us to have a lot of volume, but I will say last night, I have not seen that many people on the property all at once. I think that set a record. I mean we were close to [having] the biggest sales day we've ever had in [the] six to seven years we've been open. So, we were right on the cusp of that," said Ryan Noe, the General Manager of Social Capital. 

Another local bar also boomed on game day. 

“It's a little hard to hard to say because you have a lot of people coming and a lot of people going at different times, but Game 6, I would say we probably hosted throughout the day in our building-- over 2000 people,” said Scott Marsh, Partner and Director of Operations at the Jones Assembly. 

Both bars are expecting even higher numbers for Game 7. 

“We worked with the city, and we're going to close our street next to us for Game 7, and we are going to have a giant screen out there, a big seating area. So, we're expanding due to the great demands that we've had,” said Marsh.