OKC Thunder making big impact to small business owners in downtown OKC
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Tonight the OKC Thunder are gearing up to play the Dallas Mavericks in game one of the western conference semi-finals. It’s bringing thousands of fans into downtown Oklahoma City this week.
“Very excited. I mean, it's awesome. I’m a big fan of just basketball in general... But the playoffs is a whole different thing, so it's going to be fun,” said Jeff Kirbas, Thunder fan.
Kirbas says it’s been an exciting season and he’s confident the OKC Thunder will win tonight.
“The vibe of the city is just at an all-time high right now,” said Matt Burton, Radio Personality with The Franchise 107.7.
Burton says the Oklahoma City Thunder fan energy is at an all-time high this season, but he expects the team will face quiet the challenge at tonight’s game.
“The constant narrative about this team is how young they are and how they're not ready yet... This is going to be a very, very tough series,” said Burton.
The team is bringing thousands of people into downtown Oklahoma City, and it is impacting small businesses in the area including Deep Deuce Grill. Restaurant owner Kyle Dake says they are gearing up for a heavy crowd tonight.
“Sales have been huge... It helps small business owners... The only thing we do is we can staff up and get people in and out as fast as possible to try to get them over to the arena so they can enjoy that playoff game,” said Dake.
Dake says they are grateful for the OKC Thunder’s impact. So, to give back, he’s providing a free shuttle service to customers to and from each home game.
“We offer a shuttle service; we partner with backstage limo. So, for the playoffs, we actually started running two hours before game time so we can get a lot of people over there. And then we also pick them up and bring them back. So, it's free parking for one. If you're one of our patrons, then we also have various drink specials and stuff like that are going to be Thunder them,” said Dake.
Thunder fans just “swishing” for a big win.
Kirbas said, “Go Thunder!”
To help hype the fans up, you can enjoy free activities across the street from the stadium up until game time at each home game provided by The Thunder. For more information about Thunder Up in the Park, click here.