Next year’s Route 66 Centennial represents the holy grail of marketing opportunities for Tulsa.

That was the major takeaway from Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, who was special guest Tuesday at the Tulsa Regional Chamber’s Joint Board of Directors and Board of Advisors Meeting at Tulsa Technology Center’s Lemley Memorial Campus. 

“Tulsa is the center of the world for something that is pretty special for international tourists,” said Pinnell, who traveled last year to the European Route 66 Festival in the Czech Republic.

“That’s why the Czech Republic comes over here. When they were freed from Communism 35 years ago…the first trip they took to America was to Oklahoma because that Mother Road was America to them. There are people in Germany and a lot of countries…they see that road and that means America. If we can’t bottle that up and see that, we can’t sell anything.”

Pinnell shared his thoughts Tuesday alongside Renee McKenney, the Chamber’s senior vice president of tourism and president of Tulsa Regional Tourism.

“I know we know what the PGA (Championship) brings, one-hundred, fifty-two million dollars in economic impact,” McKenney said. “This is going to outdo that. It’s a year of events.”

Oklahoma contains more miles (roughly 400) of Route 66 than any other state, and 28 miles of the Mother Road reside in Tulsa. In 2024, Tulsa officially trademarked the title "Capital of Route 66." 

“We are putting our money where our mouth is,” said Pinnell, alluding to Route 66 marketing efforts.

To that end, the state is dedicating $6.6 million annually to the Oklahoma Route 66 Centennial revitalization fund. Overseen by the Oklahoma Route 66 Commission, this money is available to municipalities, nonprofits and government entities located along Route 66 to support projects focused on historic preservation or economic development.

Ground was broken recently on one such project, a new visitors center at the Blue Whale in Catoosa. Also, one of the most anticipated events next year will be the Tulsa’s Route 66 Capital Cruise, a May 30 car parade that sees to attract more than 3,000 entrants, which would be a Guinness World Record, McKenney said.

“We’re not just blowing out candles on a birthday cake,” Pinnell said. “We’re doing a lot more than that.”

Pinnell hopes Tulsa can use the centennial to attract future residents and companies.

“If people see Tulsa, Oklahoma, we sell really well,” he said. “That’s why the Tulsa Remote program has worked so well. Yes, again, we’re giving away $10,000 checks. But people aren’t taking that check and then leaving. They see how great Tulsa is and say, `Yeah, this is better than Dallas. Yeah, this is better than Kansas City. It’s a heck of a lot better than Austin, Texas.'

“…All of those stories can happen from people going to the car parade or hitting portions of Route 66, including the Mother Road Market and everything else we have down Route 66 in Tulsa.”