Fort Worth leaders are starting to get their stats back from All-Star Week, and they're celebrating a win.
According to the Fort Worth Sports Commission, more than 8,000 hotel rooms were booked in the city with MLB executives, sponsors, fans, and representatives from all the franchises.
Jason Sands, the commission's executive director, said they worked with the MLB for nearly two years to secure an event in the city.
"And as soon as they came out here and we showed them around, we showed them the Stockyards, they just fell in love, and they said, 'We've got to do something here in Fort Worth,'" he said.
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That "something" ended up being the MLB Draft on Sunday, held at the historic Cowtown Coliseum.
"This is probably one of the first big events that we've hosted at the Cowtown Coliseum of this caliber," Sands said.
The commission said 20,000 people flocked to the Stockyards on that day alone.
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Sands said the exposure is also key long after All-Star Week.
"We hope that there's somebody out there that maybe has never been to Fort Worth or heard of Fort Worth, and they've seen it on the draft there, and it'll make them want to come and visit," he said.
The experience has impacted many tourists, including Michael Mendez and his 8-year-old son, Parker, who stayed at a Fort Worth hotel during their trek to the All-Star Game.
“We’re from Miami. We don’t see this—we don’t see, you know, cattle in the middle of the street. So, he got a cool picture with that," said Michael as they walked the Stockyards on Wednesday before heading to the airport.
“Very cool. I did not expect that," Parker added.
Ken Powtak came in from Massachusetts for his sixth All-Star Game but stayed a little later for the classic cowboy culture.
“I said, ‘Wow, this is neat!’” he said. "They wouldn’t have stuff like this in Boston. So, this is what makes it unique. I told my older daughter, 'We’re going to get a little taste of Texas.”
