No Fan Money

Governor Tate Reeves issued an executive order limiting the number of fans allowed on the stands, and also canceling tailgates.

The college football season will be unique and unlike any we've seen before.

Governor tate reeves issued an executive order limiting the number of fans allowed on the stands, and also canceling tailgates.

Our quentin smith speaks with local business about this decision... he joins us live in the studio with more the financial impact this will have on them.

Aundrea... tailgating companies and catering services are two industries being hit hard by this order..... i spoke to a tailgating company who was expecting to serve hundreds of customers this year'... now those tents... tables..

And chairs will have remain folded... nat tailgating at mississippi state..

Hot food on the grill..

Cowbells ringing... nat and everyone having a good time.... these are the sights and sounds of college football.

But this year... things will be different due to executive order 1519... " this will it hurt because we've been gearing for this time all year really."

Brad vickers is the owner and founder of southern tradition tailgating.

Inside his warehouse are the thousands of tents, tables, and chairs he was ready to provide his customers.

Those now have to remain where they are.

" majority of our customers have already paid for 2020, so we've offer two different options for them, either a full refund or just a transfer of their tailgating package to next year."

Vickers says this decision will cost some employees their jobs this fall.

And that won't be his only loss... the business owner is also expecting to lose out on hundreds of thousands of dollars... " it's basically shutting us down for a full year, that's 12 months without money coming in."

But it isn't just tailgating companies.... nat catering services like brian michael's will be hit hard financially "it's definitely going to have some impact on our sales for sure.

It's a lot of dollars that aren't going to be moving around this year."

David wilkerson is the general manager and says they've been catering tailgates for the past 8 years.

" normally we do full-service tailgates.

We'll have staff out there serving under the tents and keeping everything stocked up, so it's going to look a lot different."

The junction will be empty.

No tents or crowds.

While the two companies won't be able to do their business as usual....that's not stopping them from offering services completely.

" we will offer some single game off campus services.

If somebody wants to tailgate at home, or if a business wants to have a tent and tvs and stuff set up, we do have individual game packages that we will be offering, and hopefully we will be able to employ some of our student workers that way."

For more information on the smaller service options both companies will be offering this fall.

Just head on over to our website