Garth Brooks’ concerts lifted spirits, profits

Wichita and Garth Brooks make a great team, showing a good time to more than 76,000 fans who attended his six sold-out Intrust Bank Arena concerts Thursday through Sunday.

Those wildly successful four days lifted spirits and business profits, while demonstrating what Wichita is capable of as a host and regional entertainment hub.

Hotels, restaurants, shops and sidewalks were full of Brooks fans, 60 percent of whom came from outside of Wichita.

“Downtown was really brought to life,” said Tad Stricker, general manager of the Ambassador Hotel, which booked all its rooms all week.

Mayor Jeff Longwell noted at Tuesday’s City Council meeting: “We just helped the state out tremendously with the increase in sales tax activities that went on in our area, and everyone did a fantastic job.”

And there were no significant problems, according to arena general manager A.J. Boleski. Even parking went relatively smoothly.

“It’s by far the most compliments we’ve ever seen from a show, just the guests who came,” Boleski said.

The experience, including the turnaround between Brooks’ back-to-back shows, gave event staff and the downtown community a taste of what’s to come when the arena hosts two rounds of the 2018 NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Another recent show of Wichita’s drawing power: The eight performances of the Wichita Theatre League’s touring production of “The Book of Mormon” last month drew Century II audiences that were 30 percent out-of-towners. The run had an estimated $3 million economic impact and generated more than $63,000 sales tax just on ticket sales, according to John D’Angelo, the city’s arts and cultural services manager.

Downtown Wichita is ready for more, too, including the men’s basketball games at Intrust Bank Arena pitting Wichita State against Utah on Saturday and Kansas State against Colorado State on Dec. 19, and Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s shows Dec. 22.

SMG’s arena management staff, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, the Wichita Police Department, Visit Wichita, city and county staff, the Wichita Downtown Development Corp., the First Student bus company and other partners deserve praise for jobs well done during the country superstar’s first Wichita run in 18 years.

And Brooks should know that he is welcome back anytime, as are the thousands of fans who shared their enthusiasm and dollars with Wichita because of him.

This story was originally published December 8, 2015 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Garth Brooks’ concerts lifted spirits, profits."