Hattiesburg expects big economic impact from USM hosting baseball regional

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WHLT) – The City of Hattiesburg is preparing for thousands of people who are expected to flood the city for the NCAA baseball tournament on Friday, June 3.

“We are looking at about a $5 million economic impact for everyone that will be here. Upwards of 25,000 people will be in town for the tournament, and when we look at how far we have come from the pandemic two years ago, this really is a great time for recovery for us,” said Marlo Dorsey, the executive director for Visit Hattiesburg.

The Golden Eagles are experiencing one of the best baseball seasons in team history. The team will host LSU, Kennesaw State and Army in the Hattiesburg Regional. Coach Scott Berry said he’s looking forward to it.

“Certainly a familiar team with LSU right down the road ought to bring draw really big crowds. I don’t know anything about those teams that are playing in our regional other than they are playing good at the right time,” said Berry.

Southern Mississippi and Ole Miss are the two state schools who made the NCAA tournament.
If both teams win their regionals, they’ll meet in the super-regional round.

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