As OU prepares to hold its first College Football Playoff game against Alabama, Norman businesses and city leadership are making arrangements to host Alabama fans and families visiting for fall commencement ceremonies.
The university announced Dec. 8 that fall graduation ceremonies would continue as planned on Saturday despite the playoff game on Friday.
Dan Schemm, president and CEO of Visit Norman, said he is excited for the playoff weekend as both a professional and an OU fan.
“From a personal perspective, (I’m) just thrilled to see the football team in the playoffs,” Schemm said. “From a professional perspective, it’s almost like an early Christmas present. We are getting to host an extra home game.”
Schemm said, although Norman typically has more time to plan for home games, he believes the city is prepared to host the playoff game.
“I guess you could look at it as being chaotic, but I feel like Norman is built for this,” Schemm said. “We know how to handle a home game. We don’t always have a graduation right on the doorstep of the game, but we’re ready for this, and I know the community is going to pull together and make it happen.”
Schemm said Norman hotels were 70% to 90% booked for fall commencement and are now fully booked due to the playoff game.
Schemm said he expects visitors to overflow into the metro area. The Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium seats around 80,000, and Norman has about 3,000 hotel rooms, according to Schemm.
Schemm said that since OU joined the Southeastern Conference in 2024, the average amount spent on a home game weekend totals to about $24 to $38 million in the Oklahoma City metro area, compared to an estimated $8 to $11 million when OU was in the Big 12 Conference.
“I know all our retailers. … They’ve had to restock a lot of OU gear, and what we’re seeing is everybody is doing all their shopping. … So they have their playoff game day apparel,” Schemm said. “That’s fun to see.”
Helen Wolney, owner of Apothem — an OU apparel and paraphernalia store on Campus Corner — said she expects the playoff game day to be similar to when OU hosted Notre Dame in 2012.
“I anticipate it to be exactly like that,” Wolney said. “I expect there to be empty shelves and twice as many people.”
Wolney said she has already pre-sold most of the stock she bought for playoff weekend and plans to order more before the game.
“I don’t think I’m going to have enough left by this weekend,” Wolney said. “I’ve been ordering bowl stuff for the past month now, anticipating this and hoping for this.”
City leaders
Mayor Stephen Tyler Holman said he hopes local businesses benefit from the extra home game and commencement weekend, especially during the holiday season.
“I expect a pretty good bump in holiday sales for local businesses and restaurants and bars,” Holman said. “It's hard to see a negative in us hosting a playoff game next week, especially against an opponent like Alabama.”
Norman Public Schools announced in an email to parents Dec. 9 that school operations will be canceled due to expected traffic and road closures near the university. District offices will close at noon.
NPS Superintendent Nick Migliorino said in a video sent to OU Daily Tuesday that the Sooners qualifying for the College Football Playoff is good for the university, but it can also create challenges for other city entities.
“What that has done is created a unique situation for Norman Public Schools,” Migliorino said in the video. “I think back to Sunday afternoon when the announcement was made. I don’t even think they were done with the announcement, and I was receiving text messages and emails from community members and staff members (asking), ‘What are you going to do?’”
Holman said he understands those who don’t appreciate the disruption but said Norman residents should take advantage of the opportunity.
“I would just encourage everybody to just embrace it,” Holman said. “It's a one-shot opportunity that we have that doesn't come around very often, and the team has earned it, and our community earned it. Our businesses have earned this. I'm really excited for us; it's a historic moment.”
Ward 7 Councilmember Kimberly Blodgett told OU Daily Dec. 9 she hopes Alabama fans will positively affect Norman’s local businesses.
“I’m just hoping that they’ll have enough time to be fully prepared because I do believe Alabama travels well, …” Blodgett said. “(It) will definitely affect the local businesses, so let’s hope it’s a positive impact.”
Ward 6 Councilmember Joshua Hinkle said Dec. 9 he’s excited to see how many Alabama fans come to Norman compared to the regular season home game last year.
“Anytime you have an injection of people that come in, hopefully local businesses benefit. Really, everyone should benefit,” Hinkle said. “The city runs on sales tax, (and) other people’s money is a great way to generate that.”
This story was edited by Ana Barboza and Natalie Armour. Avery Avery copy edited this story.
