Rhett Hobart, Student Association president, said all indications show the crowd will exceed the previous attendance numbers with the help of traveling fans, students and perspective students.
“We’ve never had two national headlining acts before, and we’re expecting that to draw in a bigger crowd,” he said.
This year, Bulldog Bash’s budget was nearly $200,000, Hobart said. SA raised $100,000 for the event and receive the rest from the 2 percent food and beverage tax.
“We have tripled our budget in almost three years,” he said.
“That’s a testament to the commitment of those who sponsor the event,” Hobart said.
Jon Maynard, president and CEO of the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, said 20 percent of the two percent tax — which is paid by anyone in the city of Starkville who purchases food or beverages — goes to the Student Association.
Bulldog Bash has a college atmosphere and has popular musical acts that bring out a crowd, he said.
“When you’re looking at people going out and spending money, you’re looking at people coming into town from somewhere else, adding money to the economy. Buying more food and beverages can definitely have an economic impact,” Maynard said.
Hobart said in preparation, there have been meetings every day and full walkthroughs in the Cotton District have been done with event security. The city police department will handle crowd control, event security will handle the barrier and campus police will be taking care of barricades on campus.
Capt. Chris Thomas of the Starkville Police Department said he will have close to 20 total officers working throughout the event.
“Most of the incidents at past Bulldog Bashes have been alcohol related,” he said. “I’ve worked every one of them and can’t think of a major problem we’ve ever had.”
Bars throughout the Cotton District will also be increasing security. Seth Adams, owner of Ptolemy’s Taproom, which will be celebrating its two-year anniversary this weekend, said it is necessary for safety measures.
“When you’re talking about 1,500 people walking through the Cotton District on a given night, that’s one thing,” he said. “On Bulldog Bash, if you have 15,000, that’s already multiplying it by 10.”
In preparation for the influx of people, the bars are also planning to purchase more drinks than usual.
Joel Mize, who co-owns Drifters with Rush Valentine, has been preparing for his first Bulldog Bash as a bar owner. They have ordered 150 cases of beer — they usually use 15 to 20 a week.
Blair Williamson, manager of Sushi Martini, said they have ordered 200 cases of beer and will push food during the day to get a head start on selling numbers.
“We’re hoping to get $15,000 Friday night,” he said. “Last year, we did $14,000. We’re trying to go up on that.”
Adams said it is a guesstimate of what the bar will need to serve customers versus what it can store, and it is a challenge to have stores for the rest of the weekend.
“We don’t have walk-in coolers or basements. What you see is what you get,” he said. “I’ll be storing 20 cases of beer in my truck and bringing them in on Saturday.”
Bart Lucius, manager of Rock Bottom, said on Bulldog Bash weekend, the bar sees double the business of what would be seen normally on any give weekend, but there is only so much increased business that can be done because of size.
Because the bars in the Cotton District are somewhat seasonal, Lucius said Bulldog Bash helps Rock Bottom make it through the winter months.
“You have your loyals, but come Dec. 9, there might as well be tumbleweeds; it’s a ghost town,” he said. “But the one thing about Starkville is that everyone comes back. It may only be a weekend or forever, but they come back.”
Rock Bottom begins preparing for Bulldog Bash the day after the previous year, he said. They watch for trends on what people are drinking and how it changes and see what can be improved on for both the bar and the customer.
“You can do your best, but you never know the end result. Every bar in the Cotton District needs and depends on it to survive,” he said. “Starkville is a very cheap drinking town compared to other SEC schools.”
Adams said although he is not dependent on large events, he expects a certain number. Because MSU only had one home game in October, Ptolemy’s saw a slow month.
“We have good months, we have bad months,” he said. “We do count on these good months to help us on the slow ones.”
Mize said the Alabama football game Saturday could help increase the number of attendance.
“Tuscaloosa is so close, it’s an easy trip. I expect quadrupled business that night from a regular night,” he said.
Hobart said the event will bring people in the night before the game and is a great recruiting tool for MSU.
“People’s memories in high school (of MSU) are of Bulldog Bash and Super Bulldog Weekend,” he said. “We’re proud to have an event like this for the student body, our alumni, the university and the state of Mississippi.”