Spruill says loss of fans will cause significant financial impact on Starkville

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – With this new order, towns here in the Golden Triangle are expecting to lose out on thousands of dollars.

Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill says they’re expecting a roughly 1.1 million dollar shortfall in sales tax revenue, much of which comes from money spent on football weekends.

The college town depends on the thousands of visitors coming to eat and shop locally.

Mississippi state will only have five home games this season, in addition to the limited seating and no tailgating.

Mayor Spruill says it’ll be a big blow financially.

“If they have five home games where they are just playing football, it’s not the same thing as five home games where there are people in the stands, because I’m just playing football, wow that is a great thing for us and I’m delighted that they are doing it, but unless we have people in the city and in the stands and being a part of the community while they are here such as staying in the hotels, eating at the restaurants, and then those games are not going to make any difference. If they go to 25% capacity and that’s all we’ve got showing up in town, then it’s going to still have an impact,” said Mayor Spruill.

Mayor Lynn Spruill says they’re considering raising taxes to help cover the shortfall.