Corky’s pumps big bucks into local economy

With some 200 softball teams in town, it’s not surprising that all of the hotel and motel rooms in Owatonna were booked this past weekend.
“It’s a little crazy, but crazy is good,” said Karen Pehrson, director of Conventions and Tourism for the Owatonna Chamber of Commerce and Tourism. “Every single hotel room is full and if we had more hotel rooms, they’d be full, too.”
Tournaments, in general, occupy a lot of weekend hotel rooms, according to Pehrson. And, she said, the impact goes far beyond the lodging establishments. “For every $100 visitors spend on lodging, they spend another $222 in our community.”
Pehrson estimated that Corky’s players and fans added  $250,000 to the Owatonna economy this past weekend. And the reach goes far beyond the city limits.
Loren Dietz, the tournament’s director, said the event generates close to one-half million dollars for southern Minnesota businesses, with games played in Faribault and Waseca, as well as Owatonna.
A non-profit organization itself, Corky’s Early Bird Softball Tournament Inc., generates $50,000 for a local charity each year, according to Dietz. This year’s beneficiary is We All Play, an all-inclusive playground and Miracle Field that recently opened in Manthey Park. Corky’s non-profit also donates more than $5,000  to Owatonna and Faribault youth scholarship funds, which helps underprivileged kids participate in youth sports.
According to data compiled by Explore Minnesota, tourism generated more than $71 million in sales in Steele County in each of the three years preceding the pandemic.
According to the Small Business Economic Impact Study from American Express, about 67-cents of every $1 spent at an average at small businesses in the U.S. stays in the local community. In addition, every dollar spent at small businesses creates an additional 50 cents in local business activity due to employee spending and businesses purchasing local goods and services.