Businesses gearing up for NCAA Baseball Tournament Regional at Ole Miss

OXFORD, Miss.(WCBI) – Rebel Country is buzzing with excitement as Ole Miss gears up to host a NCAA Baseball Tournament Regional.

The Ole Miss Rebels clinched the SEC Championship and are now one of the 16 schools to host an NCAA Tournament Regional.

Visit Oxford is wasting no time rolling out the red carpet.

“We want to make sure that people are aware of what there is to do in Oxford. Making sure that they have proper information on all of our lodging accommodations. Our office will be offering a double-decker tour which is a great way to see the city and university. That’s this Friday at 2 p.m. departing from our office,” said Visit Oxford Director, Marry Allyn Hedges.

This is the second time in three seasons Ole Miss is hosting a regional.

Hedges says it’s an event that brings thousands of baseball fans from all over the country to the city.

“We’ve got 3 other teams coming in town to play so it’s great we’ve got their fans coming, our fans coming, so it should make for a really great weekend,” said Hedges.

Lane Wilson is the general manager of Neilson’s on the square.

He says as soon as he heard the news about the baseball team hosting a regional, they hit the ground running to get ready for the crowd.

“After we all got back to work on Tuesday, after Memorial Day, everybody was like in a rush to reorder all the good stuff and our basic things that we sell. A lot of and gear specifically Ole Miss gear and red and blue stuff that the baseball fans certainly want to pick up on the way to Swayze Field,” said Wilson.

Hedges says with so many fans headed into Rebel Country it will definitely boost the local economy.

“Ole Miss did so well with their season so we were excited to have an additional really big weekend for all the local businesses, for our hotels, for our restaurants. So I think we’ll see the trickle down effect from the team doing so well,” said Hedges.

“As merchants on the square though when you have a regional or a home football game or a baseball series, the influx of not only our fans, but fans from other parts of the of the country, of course it helps business. We’re blessed here on the square in Oxford to have traffic,” said Wilson.

The Rebels were also named a top 8 national seed, meaning if they advance past this weekend, Oxford will do it all over again for the Super Regional.