Regardless of whether you were fighting for the Orange or rooting for the Crimson, one thing remains true about the University of Tennessee versus University of Oklahoma game – it helped the Knoxville economy tremendously.

As people were moving to Knoxville, driving in, and flying in from all over Tennessee and Oklahoma earlier this month, Knoxville stores and restaurants saw a surge in sales. Why? Because regardless of whether you were a Knoxville local or an out-of-towner here rooting for the UO, everyone was dropping money in the city.

“They are staying and they are spending money and they are supporting, not only the team, but they’re supporting the town,” said Tracy Hicks, General Manager of the Hilton Garden Inn on Cumberland Avenue.

Knoxville movers were surprised that new residents were able to even book rooms in the local hotels during their move, since the majority of hotel rooms across town were booked. One hotel, Hick’s hotel, said that it had been booked for the major game since February, with one single person spending $35,000 at her hotel every single season.

“He has 4 rooms every home football game so he’s dropping about 5k every home football game just in my hotel,” she said. “So in Knoxville can you imagine what he’s doing to boost the economy?”

Although the UO claimed victory over UT, locals welcomed the enormous boost to their local economy from their Oklahoma visitors