Video: College Baseball Regionals Have Economic Impact On Businesses

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) — On Monday, Mississippi State and Ole Miss find out who they’ll play in the upcoming NCAA Men’s Baseball tournament.

This means thousands of fans will flood Starkville and Oxford, which is also good news for business owners.

“It allows us to thrive and succeed,”said Mugshots store manager Alex Thompson.

Thompson said MSU fans always help his business on normal game day. Now, this weekend he is preparing for more fans than usual.

“People that are going to be taking over Starkville, and that’s our livelihood,” he said.  “We depend on people coming and giving us business.”

Thompson believes MSU fans and people cheering for the three other teams in the tournament will fill Duty Noble Field.

He’s hoping those same fans will be hungry.

“We could on weekends like this because we double basically what we would make on a normal weekend,” said Thompson.

Mugshot’s, like other restaurants, must prepare for days in advance.

“We’ve hired quite a bit more staff, we’re stepping up our ordering, and just making sure we have enough product on our hands,” said Thompson.

But ordering more product can be gamble on the restaurant’s bottom line.

“It’s very challenging, it’s a numbers game,” he said. “We try to forecast off of certain events that are similar to this, like a weekend like this, we’re treating like it’s a football weekend. It’s not an easy process but definitely a rewarding one.”

Waiters and waitresses also know they have to step up to the plate and make a big hit for customers.

“Workers here get paid by tips, so they know whenever a big crowd comes, that’s going to be an opportunity to take home more money,” said Thompson.