WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Downtown Wichita was a party zone last week as the city hosted thousands of fans for the NCAA tournament. KSN takes a look at the economic impact of the massive event. Wichita State University's Research Economist, Craig Compton, says the tournament was a multi-million do llar boost for Wichita's economy. "The general sentiment is that this event was a success," Compton said. Wichita gardeners choose drought-tolerant plants amid water restrictions Preliminary data from WSU economists shows an estimated $4.3 million in economic activity between March 19 and 22. "We take a foot traffic software that allows us to track where people are at any given location. And so it allows us to evaluate the pass-through of certain locations during certain periods of time," said Compton. Compton also said this includes out-of-state visitor spending, vendors, local businesses, hotels, and transportation. "We saw over 14,000 visitors from outside of a 50-mile radius. And so we got a big draw from out of town. Tourists injecting new dollars into our downtown economy," said Compton. Compton said the event had a ripple effect on the economy, boosting everything from tips to tax revenue. He says a quarter of the money made during the tournament paid for Wichitans' wages. "The fact that we had no local teams meant that, you know, 53% of the people who attended came from out of town and stimulated those businesses above their average," said Compton. He added that this indicates the city's ability to attract visitors and host big events. These numbers are preliminary and do not account for all the money spent while attending the games at Intrust Bank Arena. The arena will release its official data in the coming weeks. However, KSN was told that about 43,000 people attended the first and second rounds of games, while 3,500 utilized the free open space. “This year’s NCAA tournament games were successful in bringing thousands of visitors to Wichita, resulting in positive local impact for our community. Additionally, the national television exposure and the opportunity to strengthen our relationship with the NCAA are invaluable,” said Josh Howell, vice president of sports development at Visit Wichita. “In 2018, we estimated $5.5 million, but recent host cities have reported anywhere from $5 to $10 million in direct economic impact. We will be conducting a study similar to the one in 2018 to determine this year’s impact.” ...read more read less