Video: Tournament Boosts Starkville Economy

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STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) — Most Mississippi State University students may be gone for the summer, but the city of Starkville is still far from quiet.

That’s because the USSSA baseball tournament is bringing young players and their parents to town, and local business owners say they’re pleased to have the extra customers.

“Events like this – we’re always ready for it,” said David Albritton, Oby’s general manager.

About 600 players from across the state are in Starkville for the tournament, and that doesn’t even include their coaches and families.

“So usually it ends up being about 1,200 or so at a minimum visitors to the community,” said Jennifer Gregory, Greater Starkville Development Partnership.

Some parents told WCBI they expect to spend between $500 and $700 while they’re away from home.

The price for food, fuel, a place to stay – it all adds up.

“We definitely see an impact to the sales tax and to the food and beverage tax records when they come in, so we’re able to look back, and we did this again last year, and we were able to see a little boost,” Gregory said.

Gregory says she hopes these visitors like Starkville, so they’ll come back.

“It’s a great opportunity to really give them a great first impression of what we think is a great city, so it’s a win-win really for all of us,” she said.

The four-day tournament wraps up, Sunday.