A sell-out crowd will cheer the Kennesaw State Owls in the football team's home opener at Fifth Third Bank Stadium Saturday. Cobb County bars, restaurants and other businesses anticipate a big economic boost from game day crowds.
KSU Athletic Director Vaughn Williams tells the Marietta Daily Journal, the university already has a "billion dollar impact on northwest Georgia" and football fans will boost that bottom line.
"The restaurants and bars will be buzzing," he tells the paper. "It's going to be exciting and a lot of fun."
Cobb Travel & Tourism calculates KSU's football program will have an economic impact topping $500,000 a game and $3 million a season.
Local businesses say it was standing room only last Saturday for KSU's away game. Bar and restaurant managers in Marietta and along I-75 expect a huge turnout tomorrow.
Professor Roger Tutterow, director of the Econometric Center at KSU, says the economic impact will only grow as the program matures. He points to UGA in Athens as an example.
"The economic impact of football will become larger as the footprint of the students expands," he tells the Marietta Daily Journal. "You want to bring in dollars from outside the area."
Kick-off against Edward Waters College is at 4 p.m. but the parking lots open for tailgating at 11 a.m.