The city of Hattiesburg is preparing for a big economic weekend with Southern Miss baseball hosting Tennessee in one of eight super regionals going on across the country.
Hattiesburg Mayor Toby Barker said on Friday’s episode of The Gallo Show that the city is expecting an economic impact of around $4 million based on last year’s numbers.
“Last year when we hosted the conference tournament, the regional, and the super regional all in back-to-back weekends, it was about a $30 million economic impact. The super regional itself, I think it was about $4 million of spending,” Barker explained. “So, we anticipate something like that, especially if it goes to three games. We hope of course that we’re done in two and we’re celebrating on Sunday.”
Barker added that city officials have been working all week to prepare Hattiesburg for an influx of both Golden Eagle and Volunteer fans.
While he did note that Hattiesburg is no longer home to an Applebee’s – going along with a Twitter meme Southern Miss fans have consistently thrown at Tennessee fans throughout the week – the mayor feels as if there are plenty of dining options to suit all tastes.
“You know, eventually you have to graduate from the bourbon chicken and the Oreo shake and you move on to more sophisticated palettes,” Barker joked. “But hey, we’re just glad they’re here and hope they have a good time.”
As of Friday morning, the 2023 Hattiesburg Super Regional was completely sold out, even with the cheapest tickets standing at a nationwide high of $247. First pitch of game one is set for Saturday at 2 p.m. CT and can be watched on ESPNU.
