Starkville’s new tourism director outlines plan for bringing visitors back to the city

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – College baseball season will get underway for Mississippi State during the middle of February but with seating restrictions in Dudy Noble Field down to just 25 percent capacity, the city of Starkville will once again see a drop in tourism-based revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

That’s one of the challenges facing Paige Hunt, Starkville’s newly appointed Director of Tourism.

“Mississippi State events are one of the main draws, if not the main draw to bring visitors to Starkville,” she said. “With the pandemic and the restrictions, those events maybe don’t look the same as they once did.”

Unable to solely rely on fans in the stands for MSU sporting events, the newest member of the Greater Starkville Development Partnership is focused on finding other ways to bring people back to the city.

“Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Hunt said. “The state of Mississippi had a record year, with over 24 million visitors spending more than $6 billion. So in a in a community like Starkville, those visitors really do make a difference.”

Looking at hotel data across Mississippi, occupancy dropped almost 10 percent from 2019 to 2020 and revenue per available hotel room could continue to go down in 2021.

A 20-year veteran of the tourism industry who grew up in Starkville, Hunt says there are plenty of positives on the horizon .

“Starkville’s position as Mississippi’s college town really sets us up,” she said. “We have an already engaged visitor base with our Mississippi State alumni base. And I think that folks feel more comfortable coming to smaller communities.”

Hunt says the area’s facilities make it an ideal destination for corporate meetings.

“The Mill conference center is a wonderful space for meetings and conventions,” she said.

When it comes to local sporting events, Hunt says that thinking small can help the city get back to thinking big.

“Youth Sports is really something that’s thrived during the pandemic because it is an outdoor activity and you can socially distance,” she said.

Starkville’s Cornerstone Park is in the process of making major upgrades that will include 15 total baseball and softball fields. Phase one of that process is scheduled to finish in 2022.

“I think the youth sports market is a growing market and I think that Starkville is set up well to host youth tournaments,” Hunt said.

Hunt says the hospitality industry is made to pivot which makes it ideal to succeed in the environment of the pandemic. She says all of Starkville’s local entities are working together to help move the city forward.

“The economic development authority, Main Street, tourism,” Hunt listed. “We’re all here together singing from the same song book and that just sets us up for success in 2021.”