LUBBOCK, Texas — It’s not the busiest time of year, but Stephanie Massengale, owner of The Matador near Texas Tech University’s campus, said graduation has brought about a boom in business.
“It was great to see all the students and their families come to the graduation ceremony,” Massengale said.
Many students have already left Hub City for the summer vacation. Massengale said that although things have slowed down a bit, especially compared to when he first started school, he doesn’t think things will last for long. She tells Everythinglubbock.com that she’s using this time to prepare for a nonstop season, with orientation coming up, a big Under Armor sale, and her Father’s Day just around the corner. Ta.
John Osborn of the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance said that although there are more than 50,000 students at various universities and community colleges here, the number of visitors this time of year more than makes up for it. Ta.
“We have close to 7 million visitors a year,” Osborne said. “His 25% of visitors come in his June, July, August, and actually the majority of that, his 15%, he comes in July.”
Osborn said many of the people passing through town come here for amateur and youth sporting events. Massengale said they also contribute to the store’s bottom line.
“Red Raider fans come on vacation or travel, so they always like to stop in Lubbock and buy a little Red Raider gear,” she told Everythinglubbock.com.
Osborne said orientation would be another big boost for business once all 50,000 students return, but those numbers continue to grow and ultimately they have a lot of purchasing power. .
“They go shopping and go out to eat, and that brings a lot of new money into our community that we wouldn’t see if we didn’t have the university here,” he said.
