VIDEO: MHSAA Football Championship Community Impact

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- The Mississippi High School Activities Association football state championships continue this weekend and they’re in Starkville this year.

These players are bringing more than football to town this weekend. They’ve brought, their families and fans and they’re spending money.

For the second time in three years, Starkville is hosting the state High School Football Championships.

“It’s not just football games it’s an event that we’re trying to create for the players, and the fans, and the parents, and the cheerleaders, and the band members, and we’re excited that Starkville and Mississippi State can work together to provide that for them,” says Heath Barret with the Greater Starkville Development Partnership.

In return, the Greater Starkville Development Partnership hope to see businesses scoring at the cash register.

Even with MSU’s regular season over, it’s still tough to find a room in town.

“They’re staying in the hotels, so we’re excited to have them and we’re taking really great care of them as they’re here and they’re of course eating in some of our local restaurants, and they’re going to be eating on campus during the games and they’re certainly having a great impact on our community,” says Barret.

And that’s exactly what the fans have in mind.

“It has been wonderful, I’m loving the city. Can’t wait till the game starts and after the game so I can go shopping, eat at the resturants, everything is superb. Loving it, the campus is beautiful, I love it,” says Wanda Thompson.

“So far it’s been good, it’ll be even better if we win,” says Donnel Murphy.

MHSAA Executive Director Don Hinton says he’s happy fans bring business to the area.

“We give our communities a chance to showcase their facilities, their town, showcase their restaurants, you know we hope it increases the revenue and so forth when we’re here, and the lodging and the gas that they buy and the food, so we just think it’s a win win win all around,” says Hinton.

He says Davis Wade is a champion for the for the high school organization.

“We just feel like the championship teams should play in championship facilities and at Mississippi State University, we have championship facilities. And boy I’ll tell you it’s a great venue. It’s been an overwhelmingly positive response from our schools and our players and our coaches, and they’re the ones that really matter,” says Hinton.

Hinton says that allowing these high school players to come and play on a field like Mississippi State gives them something to aspire to in the future.

“To be able to come our here and play at this facility like the big boys do, like they see on Saturday’s is just, you can just see it in their eyes, they’re big eyed when they start, but it’s just an incredible experience for them to come here and play,” says Hinton.

MHSAA rotates the high school football championship games between Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

Southern Miss will be in the rotation beginning in 2018.

The games will then alternate between the three schools.