OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament will be held over the next week and a half. Forty-eight Division 1 teams will be vying for the trophy. The championship is bringing in millions to Omaha.
"It means about an $18 million economic impact to the city and that does not include fans so that’s a pretty good shot in the arm for Omaha’s economy," said Deborah Ward, the interim Executive Director of Visit Omaha.
Hotel bookings will jump from 18 percent last year to possibly more than 80 percent this year. Not only will hotels see a spike in bookings, but restaurants are also expecting more business.
Cindy Schnittgrund, the owner of The Session Room, says while she's happy to see events come back to town, the ticket and fan limitations of the volleyball tournament make it hard to predict how much business the weeks will bring.
"Last year would’ve been one of our biggest years since moving to this location and it was the March Madness, the swim trials, and the College World Series, so it was a tough blow," Schnittgrund said. "We’re very excited to welcome those people here we’re a little disappointed that there are no fans allowed until the Final Four but we’ll still see a little bit of an uptick in sales."
General admissions tickets will be available for the regional finals. Creighton will play on Wednesday and Nebraska will play Thursday.
