Perception of Starkville

[StarkVegasSteve]

HoopsDawg didn't want us to clutter the Hot Board with this discussion and I do agree with him so I'll move it.

What are the reasons that Starkville struggles so much with perception? Because we do. Outside of our fanbase, Starkville is looked at as a boring town. That's not my opinion, but ask other SEC fanbases and they will tell you that. Is it truly just that Ole Miss has spent 50 years telling everyone it's a two stoplight town and their alumni reach is bigger? And if so, how do we change it?

I think the answer is pretty simple, out of state recruiting. We need to hit this as hard as possible for the next 5-10 years. 85-90% of your in state kids know where they are going from the time they are in Jr. High. We need to somehow start making in roads in these big metroplexes and big cities in the South. I don't mean you have to go all out for out of state kids and start taking everyone like OM does, but we need to figure out a way to bring more kids to the university from out of state and start changing the national perception. Because once you start getting the regular students, you start making in roads in these schools and can start picking up the athletes.

[Santiago]

My question for baseball is what type of recruiting does it take to get some Quad 1 and 2 wins. Heck, even Quad 3.

[Cowbeller]

HoopsDawg didn't want us to clutter the Hot Board with this discussion and I do agree with him so I'll move it.

What are the reasons that Starkville struggles so much with perception? Because we do. Outside of our fanbase, Starkville is looked at as a boring town. That's not my opinion, but ask other SEC fanbases and they will tell you that. Is it truly just that Ole Miss has spent 50 years telling everyone it's a two stoplight town and their alumni reach is bigger? And if so, how do we change it?

I think the answer is pretty simple, out of state recruiting. We need to hit this as hard as possible for the next 5-10 years. 85-90% of your in state kids know where they are going from the time they are in Jr. High. We need to somehow start making in roads in these big metroplexes and big cities in the South. I don't mean you have to go all out for out of state kids and start taking everyone like OM does, but we need to figure out a way to bring more kids to the university from out of state and start changing the national perception. Because once you start getting the regular students, you start making in roads in these schools and can start picking up the athletes.

I can tell you we hit Atlanta, Nashville, and Birmingham hard. I don?t think the perception is because lack of out of state kids. It stems from the lack of bars which is rapidly changing.

When away fans/students come it?s their biggest complaint. If you know people you can have a great time in Starkvegas but if you don?t then I can see why you?d say it?s boring on a normal weekend.

[StarkVegasSteve]

I can tell you we hit Atlanta, Nashville, and Birmingham hard. I don?t think the perception is because lack of out of state kids. It stems from the lack of bars which is rapidly changing.

When away fans/students come it?s their biggest complaint. If you know people you can have a great time in Starkvegas but if you don?t then I can see why you?d say it?s boring on a normal weekend.

That's a very good point that I've never considered. If you don't really know where to go then you're going to go to Bulldog Burger or Little Dooey and your opinion will probably be Starkville sucks. I do think having The Landing right at the start of The District will help because I think it'll draw people in because it looks like a entertainment venue.

[Cooterpoot]

I'll say it: The District needs cleaning up (primarily the living areas), parking, AND more bars. Starkville needs expanded health care facilities/medical community, a few well paying industry jobs, & a nice outdoor mall (insert Target joke). Downtown construction needs to get finished up too. Needs more hotels as well.

[Cowbeller]

That's a very good point that I've never considered. If you don't really know where to go then you're going to go to Bulldog Burger or Little Dooey and your opinion will probably be Starkville sucks. I do think having The Landing right at the start of The District will help because I think it'll draw people in because it looks like a entertainment venue.

Yep I am originally from north GA so we would go to Athens for a good time. Tailgating is not close to the junction there but if they visited Stark on a baseball/basketball weekend they would complain about how crammed the district would become and preferred when we would hit house parties. Until you become in the know with the bartenders I see why people talk down on the town. Like anything it just comes down to preference because you do not get the community experience you get in Starkville in many college towns and it is tough to market that to rising high seniors especially athletes in the days of NIL.

[StarkVegasSteve]

I'll say it: The District needs cleaning up (primarily the living areas), parking, AND more bars. Starkville needs expanded health care facilities/medical community, a few well paying industry jobs, & a nice outdoor mall (insert Target joke). Downtown construction needs to get finished up too. Needs more hotels as well.

I don't disagree with any of that. I just don't know how you accomplish it. In theory, we need to tear down all those old buildings and bars and build new ones. If they could convince the Camps to sell those old buildings and demolish them then you might could have something really cool. A hotel where Mojo Maroons/Fountain Bar is would be an ideal place for one. You could rebuild The Bin and make it bigger and you could repurpose Klaasroom and Drifters and make those spaces bigger.

[EdwardDrayton]

It is what it is, and it's been droned ad nauseum, so work with what we have. There are more important things we can do something about right now. Like upgrading coaches and players.

Find the ones who want to come here, both coaches and players. That will work out better anyway.

[StarkVegasSteve]

It is what it is, and it's been droned ad nauseum, so work with what we have. There are more important things we can do something about right now. Like upgrading coaches and players.

Find the ones who want to come here, both coaches and players. That will work out better anyway.

But we're not talking about that in this thread. I literally created this thread because this talk permeated the hot board thread. There's 19 other threads to discuss that.

We're just talking about perception of Starkville here.

[Mjoelner34]

..... Needs more hotels as well.

Speaking of hotels:
1. I read a story last year where LINK, the Golden Triangle economic development council, said that Starkville was short 300 hotel rooms.
2. I believe I read where an 85 room hotel is going in behind Academy Sports.
3. What is the status of the hotel MSU was supposed to build on Col. Muldrow in the Cotton District?


Actually, 1 and 2 are from the same article:
https://cdispatch.com/news/link-10m-candlewood-suites-hotel-hinges-on-incentives/

From The Dispatch:
"The 85-room hotel would take about $10 million to build, Higgins said. It would sit on a vacant lot between Academy Sports and Hollywood Premier Cinema.

If built, it would knock a dent in what the LINK estimates is a 300-room shortage in Starkville’s hotel capacity. That is most notable on Mississippi State University football game days, Higgins said, but those are far from the only days hotels are full."

[StarkVegasSteve]

Speaking of hotels:
1. I read a story last year where LINK, the Golden Triangle economic development council, said that Starkville was short 300 hotel rooms.
2. I believe I read where an 85 room hotel is going in behind Academy Sports.
3. What is the status of the hotel MSU was supposed to build on Col. Muldrow in the Cotton District?


Actually, 1 and 2 are from the same article:
https://cdispatch.com/news/link-10m-candlewood-suites-hotel-hinges-on-incentives/

From The Dispatch:
"The 85-room hotel would take about $10 million to build, Higgins said. It would sit on a vacant lot between Academy Sports and Hollywood Premier Cinema.

If built, it would knock a dent in what the LINK estimates is a 300-room shortage in Starkville’s hotel capacity. That is most notable on Mississippi State University football game days, Higgins said, but those are far from the only days hotels are full."

1. That is correct and I think that is a conservative amount.

2. I love that they're putting that space to use but while they're at it they need to tear down that eyesore by the CVS.

3. I have no clue what the hold up is. I don't know if it's a space issue, zoning issue, the art dept is throwing a fit, etc but we need to start on it. It could be a Graduate type hotel for Mississippi State and The District could really use something like that. I really wish Ben Weprin would come in and buy that building in The District that houses apartments and Mojo Maroons and Fountain Bar and put an actual Graduate Hotel there. But I don't know if Starkville has the clientele for a Graduate.

[EdwardDrayton]

But we're not talking about that in this thread. I literally created this thread because this talk permeated the hot board thread. There's 19 other threads to discuss that.

We're just talking about perception of Starkville here.

That was not lost on me. :)

[MStateDawg]

The Landing right at the start of The District will help because I think it'll draw people in because it looks like a entertainment venue.

The Landing reminds me of The Houndstooth in Tuscaloosa. Large open bar with indoor and outdoor seating, just off campus an easily walkable distance from the stadium. It should do well on football Saturdays.

[BeardoMSU]

I think one of the biggest problems is most people outside of Starkville/MSU peeps still think it's the same city it was in 2000. We don't do a good enough job to really emphasize just HOW MUCH Starkville has improved.

[StarkVegasSteve]

I think one of the biggest problems is most people outside of Starkville/MSU peeps still think it's the same city it was in 2000. We don't do a good enough job to really emphasize just HOW MUCH Starkville has improved.

BINGO. And we don't have a large out of state alumni presence that is able to spread that message. Unfortunately, a lot of the out of state people leave on graduation day and never come back. This is one thing Ole Miss does extremely well and we don't. They make it a huge deal for their young alumni to come back in the fall and the spring and it makes them start coming back early and so they continue to come back and when they start making money they buy a condo in Oxford.

[EdwardDrayton]

I think one of the biggest problems is most people outside of Starkville/MSU peeps still think it's the same city it was in 2000. We don't do a good enough job to really emphasize just HOW MUCH Starkville has improved.

Absolutely true. It has improved exponentially.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Absolutely true. It has improved exponentially.

But that's where we fall flat. That message doesn't make it past the state line in any direction unless you're like me and live in Dallas and go back a bunch. I tell people how much better it is and show them and they're all genuinely shocked. Hell I ran into two alumni who work for an energy company out here and they had no clue how much Starkville had grown. That's our own damn people.

[parabrave]

I can tell you we hit Atlanta, Nashville, and Birmingham hard. I don?t think the perception is because lack of out of state kids. It stems from the lack of bars which is rapidly changing.

When away fans/students come it?s their biggest complaint. If you know people you can have a great time in Starkvegas but if you don?t then I can see why you?d say it?s boring on a normal weekend.

jackie hit Georgia very hard. It seemed that most of his players were from the ATL.

[DawgFromOxford]

To change the perception you need to work the media. Start pumping advertising dollars towards groups like Barstool to promote media that makes Starkville look like an awesome place to go to college. Pay someone like Sabrina Carpenter to come to a baseball game and post about it on her social media accounts

[BrunswickDawg]

I think one of the biggest problems is most people outside of Starkville/MSU peeps still think it's the same city it was in 2000. We don't do a good enough job to really emphasize just HOW MUCH Starkville has improved.

I had this exact conversation with the radio guys at UGA this weekend. They complimented Starkville and said it was a top-half city in the SEC. They raved about how much better the city is then 25-30 years ago "but no one knows it".

[R2Dawg]

BINGO. And we don't have a large out of state alumni presence that is able to spread that message. Unfortunately, a lot of the out of state people leave on graduation day and never come back. This is one thing Ole Miss does extremely well and we don't. They make it a huge deal for their young alumni to come back in the fall and the spring and it makes them start coming back early and so they continue to come back and when they start making money they buy a condo in Oxford.

What I see all the time is locals dissing MSU and Starkville not the out of state folks. A lot of them come to MSU out of state because they like the Starkville small college town scene.

[Rawdawg]

A big part of Starkville’s problem is we don’t have a downtown. We need downtown to thrive not to be closed up at 5:00. Downtown needs to be popular and successful and it’s just dead as a hammer.

[StarkVegasSteve]

A big part of Starkville’s problem is we don’t have a downtown. We need downtown to thrive not to be closed up at 5:00. Downtown needs to be popular and successful and it’s just dead as a hammer.

Yea that is one of the problems with the district and downtown being so far away from each other. There is no natural flow from one to the other.

[Cowbell]

I have probably spent considerable time in as many comparable college towns in the south as anyone on this board. Give me Starkville over most of them. I get that it isn't for everyone, but no town is. The same people always complain about it on this board and don't look at it the same way I do. People who like Fort Worth or Atlanta, won't like college station, Starkville, or Baton Rouge. They are all different. Starkville doesn't need a bunch of changes. Starkville just needs to keep improving like it has done since I left school. It is so nice to go to a college town without all the traffic jams and busy intersections. Starkville is a great college town. I have so many Texas and Oklahoma friends that have been so impressed by it while at sporting events or college visits. It is not looked down upon as much as some on here think.

[Ranchdawg]

I have family in Ft Worth. Husband and wife and 3 grown kids. Husband/wife both MSU graduates. They have been in Ft.Worth since the left MSU. One of their kids having been coming to Starkville for several years for baseball games. He sez that Starkville is really small but loves the people, loves no traffic, loves rural openness and feels safe.

[DawgFromOxford]

Another helpful piece is winning big in football and basketball which we haven?t done since 2014 (college game day). That?s free advertising when you?re playing deep into the tournament or in the playoff race. The school is on display. Commentators talk up the school and the town all while people all over the nation watch.

I guarantee you out of state enrollment numbers go up if we were to ever make the CFP

[StarkVegasSteve]

Another helpful piece is winning big in football and basketball which we haven?t done since 2014 (college game day). That?s free advertising when you?re playing deep into the tournament or in the playoff race. The school is on display. Commentators talk up the school and the town all while people all over the nation watch.

I guarantee you out of state enrollment numbers go up if we were to ever make the CFP

That's definitely one big piece to it. But another big piece is having more than one bar that 100 people can fit in and not feel cramped. We finally have one with The Landing. You have to have a place for students to go and not feel cramped like every other bar in The District. It's actually amazing how small The Landing makes Two Brothers look. I also thought they rushed the build on their building and after seeing The Landing, I know that is correct.

[Tater]

Needs a Cowbells sized bar on University.
Also needs a barcade.
And allow nightlife to go to 3. Cowbells showed there was a market for it.
Major Hotel on University (Col. Muldrow would be fine if they make it two way street lol)
Little Dooey's Expanding their out-back to be a full fledged every night bar and nightlife area with entry from University.

These updates would make Starkville Nightlife go from good to great.

The open container zones already vastly improved it. Moving to 1 on weekends was a good change. It's trending the right direction.

[Duckdog]

I teach in La. Over the years Ive had old students tell me how much they enjoy going to starkville of baton rouge. WE ALL KNOW BR IS A SH!THOLE! I grew up in BR and its a ghetto compared to years ago.

[DawgFromOxford]

That's definitely one big piece to it. But another big piece is having more than one bar that 100 people can fit in and not feel cramped. We finally have one with The Landing. You have to have a place for students to go and not feel cramped like every other bar in The District. It's actually amazing how small The Landing makes Two Brothers look. I also thought they rushed the build on their building and after seeing The Landing, I know that is correct.

100% agree. There no single magic solution. Multiple puzzle pieces need to come together

[StarkVegasSteve]

Needs a Cowbells sized bar on University.
Also needs a barcade.
And allow nightlife to go to 3. Cowbells showed there was a market for it.
Major Hotel on University (Col. Muldrow would be fine if they make it two way street lol)
Little Dooey's Expanding their out-back to be a full fledged every night bar and nightlife area with entry from University.

These updates would make Starkville Nightlife go from good to great.

The open container zones already vastly improved it. Moving to 1 on weekends was a good change. It's trending the right direction.

1. A Cowbells sized bar in The District? Yes. A bar like Cowbells in The District? No.

2. A barcade could work, but I don't think it would work in The District. I think downtown or in between downtown and The District would be a great place.

3. I don't have a problem closing bars at 1. Oxford's bars close at 1 on Fridays and 12 on Saturdays and do completely fine.

4. Agree completely. I wish the The Graduate would've bought that land instead of the University. It's going to be really hard to make Muldrow two way now because of The Landing. Had the widened the road prior to putting it in, you probably could've done it. You might could widen it on the other side though.

5. Little Dooey's is throwing away money not having that back area open all year. They'd double their revenue with that because that could be a good nightlife place for people in their 40s and 50s to go and not have to fight the crowd in The District.

[Coach34]

I have so many Texas and Oklahoma friends that have been so impressed by it while at sporting events or college visits. It is not looked down upon as much as some on here think.

Starkville is great for a game weekend. But it's awful on Tuesday or Wednesday or basically any other day that there is not a game

[StarkVegasSteve]

Starkville is great for a game weekend. But it's awful on Tuesday or Wednesday or basically any other day that there is not a game

I wouldn't say it's awful, but it's definitely pretty dead. A lot of people that say Starkville is incredible have never been there on a random Tuesday night in the middle of November or a Wednesday night in June. Now, the thing is that you can say that about Oxford as well to an extent. The two differences are that their downtown is focused in one central area and ours is spread out and PERCEPTION.

[Tbonewannabe]

To change the perception you need to work the media. Start pumping advertising dollars towards groups like Barstool to promote media that makes Starkville look like an awesome place to go to college. Pay someone like Sabrina Carpenter to come to a baseball game and post about it on her social media accounts

Hands down our media are stuck in the late 90s early 2000s. We are very slow on marketing. We also have this aw shucks mindset of not bragging because Ole Miss does it soooooooo much.

Sorry to tell you but Ole Miss doing that is why when I tell people that I am from Mississippi State, that almost always ask Ole Miss. I have to tell them that is the other school. Happened when I lived around Atlanta and now in Orlando.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Hands down our media are stuck in the late 90s early 2000s. We are very slow on marketing. We also have this aw shucks mindset of not bragging because Ole Miss does it soooooooo much.

Sorry to tell you but Ole Miss doing that is why when I tell people that I am from Mississippi State, that almost always ask Ole Miss. I have to tell them that is the other school. Happened when I lived around Atlanta and now in Orlando.

They get it. It's that simple. They know how to constantly keep their name in the news even when they're not winning. They've stayed relevant even in the down times of their sports. Why? Because they marketed something else to get people to campus. It's kind of like the LFL, we all know that it's just The Baseball Grove out there. Hell, steer into it. Make it something people that don't give a rip about baseball want to come see. It's another way to get people to Starkville. I don't give a rip if people don't pay attention to the game out there, but don't act like we're this locked in fanbase AND THEN do all the stuff they do. Market it for what it is, a hell of a time.

[gtowndawg]

I don't know if you consider Memphis out of State but the amount of kids that we personally know at State (from about 4 different high schools) is staggering. We know at least 25 families that have kids at State and other than maybe 4 of those families, none of them have any connection to State at all.

[StarkVegasSteve]

I don't know if you consider Memphis out of State but the amount of kids that we personally know at State (from about 4 different high schools) is staggering. We know at least 25 families that have kids at State and other than maybe 4 of those families, none of them have any connection to State at all.

Technically speaking yes, but I think OOS tuition is waived for them if their GPA or ACT is high enough. I've often thought we need to do the same for Georgia and Texas. I believe OM waives OOS for them if the GPA or ACT is high enough. Arkansas now waives OOS for any students from Texas that have a high enough GPA or ACT. They've really started siphoning off some of those kids that would've gone to Ole Miss, OU, or LSU recently.

[gtowndawg]

Hands down our media are stuck in the late 90s early 2000s. We are very slow on marketing. We also have this aw shucks mindset of not bragging because Ole Miss does it soooooooo much.

Sorry to tell you but Ole Miss doing that is why when I tell people that I am from Mississippi State, that almost always ask Ole Miss. I have to tell them that is the other school. Happened when I lived around Atlanta and now in Orlando.

I had a client from Indiana text me Friday night when Ole Miss was playing. He thought he was being nice congratulating me on how well Ole Miss was playing. It really does get old.

FYI: that's why I'm all in on brading ourselves as "State" on everything. It's the only chance we have to seperate ourselves as a brand from Ole Miss (because what we have done has obviously not worked).

[gtowndawg]

Technically speaking yes, but I think OOS tuition is waived for them if their GPA or ACT is high enough. I've often thought we need to do the same for Georgia and Texas. I believe OM waives OOS for them if the GPA or ACT is high enough. Arkansas now waives OOS for any students from Texas that have a high enough GPA or ACT. They've really started siphoning off some of those kids that would've gone to Ole Miss, OU, or LSU recently.

100% true, my daugher is a freshman. A 26 or at least a 3.6 GPA get's 90% of the out of state tuition waived.

[Coach34]

The two differences are that their downtown is focused in one central area and ours is spread out

This all day. Totally agree

[Coach34]

FYI: that's why I'm all in on brading ourselves as "State" on everything. It's the only chance we have to seperate ourselves as a brand from Ole Miss (because what we have done has obviously not worked).

agree 100

[Tater]

1. A Cowbells sized bar in The District? Yes. A bar like Cowbells in The District? No.

2. A barcade could work, but I don't think it would work in The District. I think downtown or in between downtown and The District would be a great place.

3. I don't have a problem closing bars at 1. Oxford's bars close at 1 on Fridays and 12 on Saturdays and do completely fine.

4. Agree completely. I wish the The Graduate would've bought that land instead of the University. It's going to be really hard to make Muldrow two way now because of The Landing. Had the widened the road prior to putting it in, you probably could've done it. You might could widen it on the other side though.

5. Little Dooey's is throwing away money not having that back area open all year. They'd double their revenue with that because that could be a good nightlife place for people in their 40s and 50s to go and not have to fight the crowd in The District.

1 - agreed and what I said - just not explicitly so good clarification.
2 - my vision is for university to just be walkable with bustling entertainment and stores all the way down the street from "downtown" to "the district". Not completely realistic, but a good goal to work towards the next 10 years.
3 - Preference I guess
4 - Agreed. Main point is we need a major hotel on University which allows people to walk easily
5 - They kept it open some last year, but they need to be consistent and it needs to be strictly Bar and no food. Just to build clientele. Also need to set up access from University. Walking all the way around is a PitA that people will ignore. Seeing the line on University breeds interest and makes it easier.

To expand on #2 - that damn cemetery where it is is unfortunately awful placement. So much could be done right there to make a massive change in bridging the gap.

[StarkVegasSteve]

1 - agreed and what I said - just not explicitly so good clarification.
2 - my vision is for university to just be walkable with bustling entertainment and stores all the way down the street from "downtown" to "the district". Not completely realistic, but a good goal to work towards the next 10 years.
3 - Preference I guess
4 - Agreed. Main point is we need a major hotel on University which allows people to walk easily
5 - They kept it open some last year, but they need to be consistent and it needs to be strictly Bar and no food. Just to build clientele. Also need to set up access from University. Walking all the way around is a PitA that people will ignore. Seeing the line on University breeds interest and makes it easier.

To expand on #2 - that damn cemetery where it is is unfortunately awful placement. So much could be done right there to make a massive change in bridging the gap.

I just do not understand the placement of that thing. It ruins the flow of everything.

[Tbonewannabe]

I had a client from Indiana text me Friday night when Ole Miss was playing. He thought he was being nice congratulating me on how well Ole Miss was playing. It really does get old.

FYI: that's why I'm all in on brading ourselves as "State" on everything. It's the only chance we have to seperate ourselves as a brand from Ole Miss (because what we have done has obviously not worked).

Yeah it is kind of generic but it is honestly the best thing we have going as far as Marketing.

[DawgFromOxford]

I just do not understand the placement of that thing. It ruins the flow of everything.

Quick google search says that cemetery has been around since the 1800s , so who would have thought it wind up being in a main part of town. It was added to the National Historic places register in 1990 so I'm assuming there's virtually 0% chance it can be moved.

[gtowndawg]

Yeah it is kind of generic but it is honestly the best thing we have going as far as Marketing.

I saw a video the other day on Twitter from a news reel when we played in the 1937 Orange Bowl. Even in 1937 the news guy referred to us as "State" so there is a long history to just own it and brand it everywhere.

[Tbonewannabe]

I saw a video the other day on Twitter from a news reel when we played in the 1937 Orange Bowl. Even in 1937 the news guy referred to us as "State" so there is a long history to just own it and brand it everywhere.

I agree. I was just saying that several schools could go by it. We need to push it hard and get it out there.

[BeardoMSU]

To expand on #2 - that damn cemetery where it is is unfortunately awful placement. So much could be done right there to make a massive change in bridging the gap.

I've got an idea...**

https://y.yarn.co/334b8ee4-de59-4f14-8fee-40962ff71c42_text.gif

[dparker]

I'll add my two cents.

If we are talking about perception then it all comes down to lived experience and people seeing it with their own eyes. Starkville is hard to get to and expensive to stay. There are rarely reasons to visit (conferences, concerts, etc.) outside of sports and sports weekends are the most expensive. The end result is the people with a bad perception don't go see the changes everyone is referencing.

I drive through Tuscaloosa on the way to the coast. Auburn is on the way to ATL. Baton Rouge is on I-10. Fayetteville is on I-49. Nashville is Nashville. Columbia is at the intersection of 3 interstates. And so on and so forth. Oxford and Starkville are only serviced by HWYs and Oxford is relatively close to I-20 and 55 on the way to Memphis.

We can't change the geography but maybe we can give more reasons for it to be a destination with academic conferences and professional events but those are typically held in bigger cities with more hotel rooms and things for attendees to do.

[Political Hack]

Here's a list of teams/schools that recruit Atlanta harder than State (academic, baseball and football):
All in-state Georgia teams
Bama
Auburn
UAB
Troy
West Virginia
Tennessee
Vandy
NC State
Milsaps
Ole Miss
Florida
Miami-OH
Princeton
Penn
UConn
Boston College
Baylor
Tulane
UT Martin

and that's off the top of my head.

If you don't tell people about Starkville/State, Ole Miss fans and other SEC competitors will.

[StarkVegasSteve]

I'll add my two cents.

If we are talking about perception then it all comes down to lived experience and people seeing it with their own eyes. Starkville is hard to get to and expensive to stay. There are rarely reasons to visit (conferences, concerts, etc.) outside of sports and sports weekends are the most expensive. The end result is the people with a bad perception don't go see the changes everyone is referencing.

I drive through Tuscaloosa on the way to the coast. Auburn is on the way to ATL. Baton Rouge is on I-10. Fayetteville is on I-49. Nashville is Nashville. Columbia is at the intersection of 3 interstates. And so on and so forth. Oxford and Starkville are only serviced by HWYs and Oxford is relatively close to I-20 and 55 on the way to Memphis.

We can't change the geography but maybe we can give more reasons for it to be a destination with academic conferences and professional events but those are typically held in bigger cities with more hotel rooms and things for attendees to do.

Hotels shortage is one of the main problems. Because as you said, we could attract more professional events and conferences because we actually do have the space for that between the university and The Mill. Also some other things holding back Starkville is, like you said not serviced by a major hwy. There are not many high paying jobs in Starkville unless you're a lawyer, doctor, or are high up at Mississippi State, and lack of entertainment options on a non ballgame weekend(this one isn't a huge one but is something to mention nonetheless)

[KB21]

What's the latest on the sale of OCH? What I have heard is hearsay, but I've heard that NMMC really wants to expand their footprint in the area.

[Bothrops]

Google Maps hasn't updated the Starkville area in like 7 or 8 years. The old Dude is still on the map.

[gtowndawg]

I'll add my two cents.

If we are talking about perception then it all comes down to lived experience and people seeing it with their own eyes. Starkville is hard to get to and expensive to stay. There are rarely reasons to visit (conferences, concerts, etc.) outside of sports and sports weekends are the most expensive. The end result is the people with a bad perception don't go see the changes everyone is referencing.

I drive through Tuscaloosa on the way to the coast. Auburn is on the way to ATL. Baton Rouge is on I-10. Fayetteville is on I-49. Nashville is Nashville. Columbia is at the intersection of 3 interstates. And so on and so forth. Oxford and Starkville are only serviced by HWYs and Oxford is relatively close to I-20 and 55 on the way to Memphis.

We can't change the geography but maybe we can give more reasons for it to be a destination with academic conferences and professional events but those are typically held in bigger cities with more hotel rooms and things for attendees to do.

It's a great point. I'm told Oxford has a lot of youth baseball (and maybe softball) tournaments? I know a lot of Memphis families that have gone down there for the weekend, stayed in hotels and did the youth baseball thing. After while I guess it grows on them and naturally it's great for the local economy. I thought I recall Starkville was going to do something similar or am I dreaming that up?

[StarkVegasSteve]

What's the latest on the sale of OCH? What I have heard is hearsay, but I've heard that NMMC really wants to expand their footprint in the area.

Another 17 up by the city/county.....not letting it sale in 2017 to whoever it was that wanted to buy it.


To answer your question. I know NMHS(North Mississippi Health Services) out of Tupelo and Baptist were interested in bidding. The first round of bids were due the first week of March and they didn't release who actually placed bids. My guess is those two placed bids and maybe NMMC as well. I know Oschner was sniffing around for a while about possibly bidding but don't know if that ever came into fruition.

[Bothrops]

It's a great point. I'm told Oxford has a lot of youth baseball (and maybe softball) tournaments? I know a lot of Memphis families that have gone down there for the weekend, stayed in hotels and did the youth baseball thing. After while I guess it grows on them and naturally it's great for the local economy. I thought I recall Starkville was going to do something similar or am I dreaming that up?

Oxford gets a lot of weekend visitors throughout the year. Sporting events just bring in more. Starkville, on the other hand, is quiet when no big games are being played.

[StarkVegasSteve]

It's a great point. I'm told Oxford has a lot of youth baseball (and maybe softball) tournaments? I know a lot of Memphis families that have gone down there for the weekend, stayed in hotels and did the youth baseball thing. After while I guess it grows on them and naturally it's great for the local economy. I thought I recall Starkville was going to do something similar or am I dreaming that up?

We did it. Starkville has those ballfields. Cornerstone Sports Complex right off 25. Same number of fields as m Trade in Oxford. I think Oxford is just a more desirable location for that because Oxford has 3x the amount of hotels as Starkville, plenty of AirBNBs, Batesville has plenty of hotels and is 20 minutes away, and Memphis is an hour away

[StarkVegasSteve]

Oxford gets a lot of weekend visitors throughout the year. Sporting events just bring in more. Starkville, on the other hand, is quiet when no big games are being played.

And that's what Starkville has to figure out how to change. Like go to Oxford in June/July and the square is going to be pretty packed. Go to Starkville in June/July and The District will be quiet. Like I said, I think one of the big things is figuring out how to connect The District and the downtown area. Oxford has bars,restaurants, and boutique stores all right on The Square. Starkville has bars in one area, stores in one area, and restaurants in another area. There's no fluidity and flow.

Also, WE GOTTA FIGURE OUT THE PARKING. There's like 50 spots total in The District. People might come and stay a while if they had a damn place to park.

[gtowndawg]

We did it. Starkville has those ballfields. Cornerstone Sports Complex right off 25. Same number of fields as m Trade in Oxford. I think Oxford is just a more desirable location for that because Oxford has 3x the amount of hotels as Starkville, plenty of AirBNBs, Batesville has plenty of hotels and is 20 minutes away, and Memphis is an hour away

Interesting. I'm a big believer in sports tourism, but yeah, Starkville would need more hotels and other reasons to attract people for the weekend other than a State game.

[State82]

Also, WE GOTTA FIGURE OUT THE PARKING. There's like 50 spots total in The District. People might come and stay a while if they had a damn place to park.

No doubt. This is a huge problem and one that keeps me out for the most part.

[StarkVegasSteve]

No doubt. This is a huge problem and one that keeps me out for the most part.

I'm lucky that my condo is right down the hill from Uno Mas. But if I didn't I really don't know where I'd park.

[dparker]

Oxford gets a lot of weekend visitors throughout the year. Sporting events just bring in more. Starkville, on the other hand, is quiet when no big games are being played.

I lived in Oxford for about a decade after State. They were still pretty sleepy during the summer. When I was there they tried to attract people by having events (BBQ competition, youth sports, cultural events at the Ford Center, etc.) to bring people in. I think some of the smartest things they did was to build a conference center, parking decks around the square so it was easier for people to go and to (eventually) break the monopoly of the square by having another whole area for restaurants/bars/entertainment to go. For years, growth was choked by having everything confined to the square.

[Cowbell]

I teach in La. Over the years Ive had old students tell me how much they enjoy going to starkville of baton rouge. WE ALL KNOW BR IS A SH!THOLE! I grew up in BR and its a ghetto compared to years ago.

This ain't no lie

[Cowbell]

I have family in Ft Worth. Husband and wife and 3 grown kids. Husband/wife both MSU graduates. They have been in Ft.Worth since the left MSU. One of their kids having been coming to Starkville for several years for baseball games. He sez that Starkville is really small but loves the people, loves no traffic, loves rural openness and feels safe.

I spend more time than I care for in DFW and Starkville along with several towns in south Mississippi make me want to move back.

[Extendedcab]

We could always build a “Gilleys” like Houston/Pasadena. It was a cheap galvanized steel building that could hold a few thousand “patrons”. Woo hoo, urban cowboy II. ***

[gtowndawg]

Also, WE GOTTA FIGURE OUT THE PARKING. There's like 50 spots total in The District. People might come and stay a while if they had a damn place to park.

Someone (maybe you??) said one time a new parking garage in the District that funds NIL - that was a genious idea.

[Cooterpoot]

Concerts at The Dude and Davis Wade in the summer would help generate traffic

[Tater]

I've got an idea...**

https://y.yarn.co/334b8ee4-de59-4f14-8fee-40962ff71c42_text.gif

Just build a parking garage with the first floor remaining the cemetery *****

Never gonna have rain **** up a funeral there again *****

[BeardoMSU]

Just build a parking garage with the first floor remaining the cemetery *****

Never gonna have rain **** up a funeral there again *****

Genius!

[Tater]

Genius!

Everybody wins! It would be a massive boon to the district while letting fans experience the true State fan experience - being a part of something built on a burial ground.

While we're at it - let's turn St. Joe's into the Pon- I mean a Non-alcoholic dance club.

[EdwardDrayton]

Do folks like the food at Uno Mas?

[EdwardDrayton]

Concerts at The Dude and Davis Wade in the summer would help generate traffic

Think so too. A lot of us went to concerts on campus back in the day. I know I would go.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Someone (maybe you??) said one time a new parking garage in the District that funds NIL - that was a genious idea.

Yea it was me. I doubt they will ever do that. Makes too much sense

[Duckdog]

Whats holding Starkville back is its general location.

[Lord McBuckethead]

HoopsDawg didn't want us to clutter the Hot Board with this discussion and I do agree with him so I'll move it.

What are the reasons that Starkville struggles so much with perception? Because we do. Outside of our fanbase, Starkville is looked at as a boring town. That's not my opinion, but ask other SEC fanbases and they will tell you that. Is it truly just that Ole Miss has spent 50 years telling everyone it's a two stoplight town and their alumni reach is bigger? And if so, how do we change it?

I think the answer is pretty simple, out of state recruiting. We need to hit this as hard as possible for the next 5-10 years. 85-90% of your in state kids know where they are going from the time they are in Jr. High. We need to somehow start making in roads in these big metroplexes and big cities in the South. I don't mean you have to go all out for out of state kids and start taking everyone like OM does, but we need to figure out a way to bring more kids to the university from out of state and start changing the national perception. Because once you start getting the regular students, you start making in roads in these schools and can start picking up the athletes.

I have lived in Starkville since 2001, with a short break of 2006-2014. Listen, the town intself is fine. It has glaring issues that is hard to look past. I will list them below...

1. The change since 2001-2025 has been great, but really it should have happened from 1970-2001 at that same pace. HWY 12 is a disaster. Just terrible planning or lack thereof. Lack of commercial investment hurts too.
People expect a Target. People expect a Fresh Market. We just don't have the higher level of commercial stores in Starkville, mostly due to our terrible location. No major interstates anywhere nearby. No major population centers, anywhere nearby.
2. Larger areas like DeSoto and the Coast have vastly more things for families to do. Hell Starkville doesn't even have a body of water around to visit worth a crap.
3. Housing is an issue.

Mostly, Starkville is a great small town. Lack of things to do, things to be involved in, and just its terrible first impression drives a lot of the sentiment. I see why every other college campus in the SEC is better than ours. Every college town is better than ours. Name me one college town in the SEC that doesn't have a Target or Fresh Market. It sounds dumb, but that is just the tip of the iceburg for things lacking in Starkvegas.

[Lord McBuckethead]

Whats holding Starkville back is its general location.

Bingo. General Location, Population, and lack of vision 3 decades ago.

[StarkVegasSteve]

I have lived in Starkville since 2001, with a short break of 2006-2014. Listen, the town intself is fine. It has glaring issues that is hard to look past. I will list them below...

1. The change since 2001-2025 has been great, but really it should have happened from 1970-2001 at that same pace. HWY 12 is a disaster. Just terrible planning or lack thereof. Lack of commercial investment hurts too.
People expect a Target. People expect a Fresh Market. We just don't have the higher level of commercial stores in Starkville, mostly due to our terrible location. No major interstates anywhere nearby. No major population centers, anywhere nearby.
2. Larger areas like DeSoto and the Coast have vastly more things for families to do. Hell Starkville doesn't even have a body of water around to visit worth a crap.
3. Housing is an issue.

Mostly, Starkville is a great small town. Lack of things to do, things to be involved in, and just its terrible first impression drives a lot of the sentiment. I see why every other college campus in the SEC is better than ours. Every college town is better than ours. Name me one college town in the SEC that doesn't have a Target or Fresh Market. It sounds dumb, but that is just the tip of the iceburg for things lacking in Starkvegas.

All of this is correct. And like you said, the recent growth and development is great but we started 30 years late.

[TrapGame]

Concerts at The Dude and Davis Wade in the summer would help generate traffic

Hardy should do a music festival in DW once a year. He could bring in a BUNCH of known musical acts. Not just country but some rock too.

[DDawg]

I have lived in Starkville since 2001, with a short break of 2006-2014. Listen, the town intself is fine. It has glaring issues that is hard to look past. I will list them below...

1. The change since 2001-2025 has been great, but really it should have happened from 1970-2001 at that same pace. HWY 12 is a disaster. Just terrible planning or lack thereof. Lack of commercial investment hurts too.
People expect a Target. People expect a Fresh Market. We just don't have the higher level of commercial stores in Starkville, mostly due to our terrible location. No major interstates anywhere nearby. No major population centers, anywhere nearby.
2. Larger areas like DeSoto and the Coast have vastly more things for families to do. Hell Starkville doesn't even have a body of water around to visit worth a crap.
3. Housing is an issue.

Mostly, Starkville is a great small town. Lack of things to do, things to be involved in, and just its terrible first impression drives a lot of the sentiment. I see why every other college campus in the SEC is better than ours. Every college town is better than ours. Name me one college town in the SEC that doesn't have a Target or Fresh Market. It sounds dumb, but that is just the tip of the iceburg for things lacking in Starkvegas.

highway 12 is a crime against humanity. like honestly the medians are awful. they make driving it awful. they make everything a pain in the ass to get to and really is some of the worst infrastructure ive ever seen a city implement and standby. whoever cooked than up should be ashamed of themselves. ive never seen this anywhere else, not saying it doesnt exists other places but man.

[BeardoMSU]

I have lived in Starkville since 2001, with a short break of 2006-2014. Listen, the town intself is fine. It has glaring issues that is hard to look past. I will list them below...

1. The change since 2001-2025 has been great, but really it should have happened from 1970-2001 at that same pace. HWY 12 is a disaster. Just terrible planning or lack thereof. Lack of commercial investment hurts too.
People expect a Target. People expect a Fresh Market. We just don't have the higher level of commercial stores in Starkville, mostly due to our terrible location. No major interstates anywhere nearby. No major population centers, anywhere nearby.
2. Larger areas like DeSoto and the Coast have vastly more things for families to do. Hell Starkville doesn't even have a body of water around to visit worth a crap.
3. Housing is an issue.

Mostly, Starkville is a great small town. Lack of things to do, things to be involved in, and just its terrible first impression drives a lot of the sentiment. I see why every other college campus in the SEC is better than ours. Every college town is better than ours. Name me one college town in the SEC that doesn't have a Target or Fresh Market. It sounds dumb, but that is just the tip of the iceburg for things lacking in Starkvegas.

Yeah, this is a good summation.

[DDawg]

Yeah, this is a good summation.

also our restaurant scene is terrible i hate to say. we have no destination restaurants, we outsource those to west point and columbus. we have commodore bobs ( small like everything else downtown and frankly they are way more pretentious than they deserve to be ) and restaurant tyler ( weird days and hours imo ) and besides those 2 i mean you have equal quality options in about any given city. getting a spot on the level of hucks or anthonys here would really help us out. ALSO one other thing all our restaurants seem to overheat on capacity at the slightest inkling of something going on ( think 1.5 hour wait at bdubs for a rando basketball game on a saturday )

and on the point of stuff for families to do i mean yeah if you arent going to a state game you better hit 82 to ttown.

[Cooterpoot]

also our restaurant scene is terrible i hate to say. we have no destination restaurants, we outsource those to west point and columbus. we have commodore bobs ( small like everything else downtown and frankly they are way more pretentious than they deserve to be ) and restaurant tyler ( weird days and hours imo ) and besides those 2 i mean you have equal quality options in about any given city. getting a spot on the level of hucks or anthonys here would really help us out. ALSO one other thing all our restaurants seem to overheat on capacity at the slightest inkling of something going on ( think 1.5 hour wait at bdubs for a rando basketball game on a saturday )

and on the point of stuff for families to do i mean yeah if you arent going to a state game you better hit 82 to ttown.

LOL, nah, the food is legit in Starkville. What an awful take!

[Bothrops]

Name me one college town in the SEC that doesn't have a Target or Fresh Market.

Oxford and Starkville is all i know of

[Bothrops]

LOL, nah, the food is legit in Starkville. What an awful take!

The food quality is about the same in both towns.

[DDawg]

LOL, nah, the food is legit in Starkville. What an awful take!

Such as?

[BeardoMSU]

Such as?

Tyler/Guest Room (one of the best in the state, btw), 2 Brothers, Commodores, LD, etc....

[Coursesuper]

Tyler/Guest Room (one of the best in the state, btw), 2 Brothers, Commodores, LD, etc....

Older Brother, Luva, 44 Prime to add a few more.

[Tater]

This man really said with his whole chest a town in Mississippi has bad food.

Three stats to think about.

Mississippi in 2nd in Obesity
Mississippi has the lowest median income.
Mississippi Weather and Humidity


The only way these 3 things coexist is that Mississippians take pride in their food. I'd put Starkville's food scene up against any other college in America. We'll win. No contest.

[StarkVegasSteve]

This man really said with his whole chest a town in Mississippi has bad food.

Three stats to think about.

Mississippi in 2nd in Obesity
Mississippi has the lowest median income.
Mississippi Weather and Humidity


The only way these 3 things coexist is that Mississippians take pride in their food. I'd put Starkville's food scene up against any other college in America. We'll win. No contest.

Yea our food scene is probably on par with most college towns in the SEC. We do not really have a high end option, outside of 44 Prime, but outside of that I think the food options are good. Parking for those food options is another story in and of itself.

[Coursesuper]

Yea our food scene is probably on par with most college towns in the SEC. We do not really have a high end option, outside of 44 Prime, but outside of that I think the food options are good. Parking for those food options is another story in and of itself.

That is what Uber is for. Living here we almost never drive when we have a night out. Uber is always an option and there are usually plenty of them rolling. Makes the dining and drinking that much more enjoyable without having to worry about the SPD.

[Tater]

Yea our food scene is probably on par with most college towns in the SEC. We do not really have a high end option, outside of 44 Prime, but outside of that I think the food options are good. Parking for those food options is another story in and of itself.

Yea if you want high society fine dining go to NYC. That shit ain't what college is about lol.

$500 at Little Dooey's > $500 at Keen's in NYC

[Duckdog]

I have lived in Starkville since 2001, with a short break of 2006-2014. Listen, the town intself is fine. It has glaring issues that is hard to look past. I will list them below...

1. The change since 2001-2025 has been great, but really it should have happened from 1970-2001 at that same pace. HWY 12 is a disaster. Just terrible planning or lack thereof. Lack of commercial investment hurts too.
People expect a Target. People expect a Fresh Market. We just don't have the higher level of commercial stores in Starkville, mostly due to our terrible location. No major interstates anywhere nearby. No major population centers, anywhere nearby.
2. Larger areas like DeSoto and the Coast have vastly more things for families to do. Hell Starkville doesn't even have a body of water around to visit worth a crap.
3. Housing is an issue.

Mostly, Starkville is a great small town. Lack of things to do, things to be involved in, and just its terrible first impression drives a lot of the sentiment. I see why every other college campus in the SEC is better than ours. Every college town is better than ours. Name me one college town in the SEC that doesn't have a Target or Fresh Market. It sounds dumb, but that is just the tip of the iceburg for things lacking in Starkvegas.
Does your husband feel the same way??? Who gives a rats ass about a target or fresh market

[StarkVegasSteve]

Does your husband feel the same way??? Who gives a rats ass about a target or fresh market

College students, housewives, people who want higher quality products, people who want fresh produce, people who want cleaner food


I mean it's pretty common to shop at those places in Dallas where I am. Starkville could really use a Trader Joes or even a Whole Foods.

[StarkVegasSteve]

That is what Uber is for. Living here we almost never drive when we have a night out. Uber is always an option and there are usually plenty of them rolling. Makes the dining and drinking that much more enjoyable without having to worry about the SPD.

I more meant on gameday or game weekends when you have a large influx of people and a large influx of people who come for the game and leave after.

[WinningIsRelentless]

College students, housewives, people who want higher quality products, people who want fresh produce, people who want cleaner food


I mean it's pretty common to shop at those places in Dallas where I am. Starkville could really use a Trader Joes or even a Whole Foods.

The problem is you don?t even have a Trader Joe?s or Whole Foods in the 4th largest school zone in the state. It?s a MS problem not a Starkville problem.

[Tater]

College students, housewives, people who want higher quality products, people who want fresh produce, people who want cleaner food


I mean it's pretty common to shop at those places in Dallas where I am. Starkville could really use a Trader Joes or even a Whole Foods.

Whole Foods would be good.

Interesting thought I had to drive a bit of tourism. I know a Buc-ee's at the 45/82 intersection would be a boon. One's about to open on the coast. That would be a perfect spot for one for us if we could lobby for it. (Unfortunately it's more likely to end up at 55/20 or 55/82.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Yea if you want high society fine dining go to NYC. That shit ain't what college is about lol.

$500 at Little Dooey's > $500 at Keen's in NYC

I think he was talking about Starkville in general. Not just from a student population perspective.

It's like I've said before on this topic. I think it's multi faceted. It's how to we get more students and from a wider range of areas to Starkville and then another conversation is how do we make Starkville a desirable place to live for the 25-55 crowd.

[Pancho]

not enough volume traffic at 45/82 for Buc-ee's. would be nice, though.

[StarkVegasSteve]

The problem is you don?t even have a Trader Joe?s or Whole Foods in the 4th largest school zone in the state. It?s a MS problem not a Starkville problem.

You're not wrong. And that's where the Starkville Development Partnership and Economic Development Authority have to start stepping up. Someone has to be first and a college town is a good place to start. It's also why a larger OOS population could help us in that regard. I think there may be a greater demand for those kind of stores if you start pulling from TX, GA, AR, FL, etc. a little bit more. Because those students are accustomed to those types of stores.

I mean right now if you were to put odds on where one of those would go, I don't even think Starkville would be in the top 5. And Oxford might be 1, even over Madison.

[BeardoMSU]

Does your husband feel the same way??? Who gives a rats ass about a target or fresh market

What a dipshit comment. **** off, lol.

[BeardoMSU]

College students, housewives, people who want higher quality products, people who want fresh produce, people who want cleaner food


I mean it's pretty common to shop at those places in Dallas where I am. Starkville could really use a Trader Joes or even a Whole Foods.

Yeah, having choices with your grocery stores is awesome. I do most of my shopping at Wegmans, but I also have a Traders and Whole Foods to buy random stuff from. I can't imagine going back to the alternative. I was still living in Starkville when the new Kroger opened and I was soooo excited, lol.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Yeah, having choices with your grocery stores is awesome. I do most of my shopping at Wegmans, but I also have a Traders and Whole Foods to buy random stuff from. I can't imagine going back to the alternative. I was still living in Starkville when the new Kroger opened and I was soooo excited, lol.

That Kroger, while it was probably not a bad location when first built., is poorly placed now. It's a pain in the ass to have to battle traffic all down 12 and back just to get quality produce and meat.

[BeardoMSU]

That Kroger, while it was probably not a bad location when first built., is poorly placed now. It's a pain in the ass to have to battle traffic all down 12 and back just to get quality produce and meat.

I believe it. Visiting Starkville last Christmas was my first time seeing the new HW12, and holy cow...what were they thinking.

[StarkVegasSteve]

I believe it. Visiting Starkville last Christmas was my first time seeing the new HW12, and holy cow...what were they thinking.

It made no sense when they did it and makes less sense now. They claim it was too help with traffic and accidents. And while it might do that for the accidents they were trying to prevent, it caused 1000x more problems and even worse traffic.

[CaptainObvious]

How does all of this affect the type of athlete State recruits? Most of the football and basketball players and their families in our recruiting footprint have likely never seen the inside of a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's or a Ruth's-Chris or Fleming's for that matter.

Most if you talk about Bars in the district and tiny horrible restaurants like 2- Brothers like they are some prime cooking establishments . I rate 2-Brothers on the same level as Dave's Darkhorse and Waffle House. No wait. Waffle House has better food and a better quality of clientele than 2-Brothers.

Everybody hates chains in here for some reason, but I'd darn sure like to see reasonably priced steakhouse chains like Texas Roadhouse, Longhorn, Saltgrass, or even Outback in Starkville. As for shopping, look what that small shopping center with Marshall's and Aldi's did. Parking lot is always full. Build something like Dogwood Festival off Hwy 12 @ Hwy 80 north of campus with chain stores and watch how it gets built up all around. You already have a built in tax base with it being a college town. Add a 1.5% sales tax to use to build up a fund for commercial development to give investors incentives and tax breaks to come develop! How do you think Ridgeland, which was being left in the dust by Flowood and Madison, was able to get so much development in a short period of time? That land where The Renaissance is was some of the highest price land in Mississippi! Yet they found a way to bring developers in and now that I 55 corridor links Ridgeland, Madison, Gluckstadt and Canton. Brandon 047 didn't want to be just a rural bedroom community, but along Lakeland Drive was some of the most expensive land in Rankin County. There was a time when there were 3 shopping centers out there. Walmart, Kroger and Cowboy Maloney! And nothing but trees and open fields on the north side of Lakeland! It has blown up with all types of business and fast food restaurants to grow their business tax base.

MSU HAS to be the focal point of Starkville and the city needs to build AROUND it, not just on one side of it!

[StarkVegasSteve]

How does all of this affect the type of athlete State recruits? Most of the football and basketball players and their families in our recruiting footprint have likely never seen the inside of a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's or a Ruth's-Chris or Fleming's for that matter.

Most if you talk about Bars in the district and tiny horrible restaurants like 2- Brothers like they are some prime cooking establishments . I rate 2-Brothers on the same level as Dave's Darkhorse and Waffle House. No wait. Waffle House has better food and a better quality of clientele than 2-Brothers.

Everybody hates chains in here for some reason, but I'd darn sure like to see reasonably priced steakhouse chains like Texas Roadhouse, Longhorn, Saltgrass, or even Outback in Starkville. As for shopping, look what that small shopping center with Marshall's and Aldi's did. Parking lot is always full. Build something like Dogwood Festival off Hwy 12 @ Hwy 80 north of campus with chain stores and watch how it gets built up all around. You already have a built in tax base with it being a college town. Add a 1.5% sales tax to use to build up a fund for commercial development to give investors incentives and tax breaks to come develop! How do you think Ridgeland, which was being left in the dust by Flowood and Madison, was able to get so much development in a short period of time? That land where The Renaissance is was some of the highest price land in Mississippi! Yet they found a way to bring developers in and now that I 55 corridor links Ridgeland, Madison, Gluckstadt and Canton. Brandon 047 didn't want to be just a rural bedroom community, but along Lakeland Drive was some of the most expensive land in Rankin County. There was a time when there were 3 shopping centers out there. Walmart, Kroger and Cowboy Maloney! And nothing but trees and open fields on the north side of Lakeland! It has blown up with all types of business and fast food restaurants to grow their business tax base.

MSU HAS to be the focal point of Starkville and the city needs to build AROUND it, not just on one side of it!


And for the longest time that was the problem. Starkville thought opposite of that.

On your other points, I'd love to see a chain style steakhouse in Starkville. I think an Outback or Longhorn would do very well in Starkville. Although I thought the same about Chilis and that closed.

A shopping center would kill it in Starkville. You have a great base of college kids to be able to market it to. Where to put it would be the issue.

And last point, I am not specifically talking about athletes. We need to be expanding our recruiting footprint in both academics and athletics and not narrowing that footprint.

[Lord McBuckethead]

Hardy should do a music festival in DW once a year. He could bring in a BUNCH of known musical acts. Not just country but some rock too.

Problem with Davis Wade is it absolutely wrecks our field, but I am okay with that. Not like our baseball players need a perfect field. Visiting teams find it easy to perform.

[Lord McBuckethead]

Both of those locations Fullwood and Madison had the greater Jackson population to support it. Not to mention, no one wants to live "In Jackson".
Again, location, population, and terrible small minded leadership for the 1970-2000 time frame.

[Lord McBuckethead]

Yeah, no offense but students from Mississippi don't have the bank roll. Look at what Ole Miss brings in.... $$$ from out of state.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Yeah, no offense but students from Mississippi don't have the bank roll. Look at what Ole Miss brings in.... $$$ from out of state.

Which was my whole point at the start. We need to start embracing OOS like they do. Maybe not to that extent, but a hell of a lot more than we are now.

[Rawdawg]

Hardy should do a music festival in DW once a year. He could bring in a BUNCH of known musical acts. Not just country but some rock too.

I know for a fact we will never do a concert at Dudy Noble like the Hardy concert ever again. As someone who was working with them on it, it was an absolute cluster17 and they lost money on it. What should happen moving forward is using the Hump during the offseasons for concerts and that?s in the works.

[Pancho]

what happened with the hardy concert?

[Rawdawg]

what happened with the hardy concert?

Ticket sales, concession sales and merchandise sales missed their projections by quite a bit. We had to file a large insurance claim to fix the damage to the venue, and by delaying the concert a day everyone had to be housed, staffed etc for an additional day which further cut into margins. Not to mention the logistics of everything that went into it before hand did not go like the people who are all smarter than those that are smarter than us told them it would be.

[Maroonthirteen]

These threads are always interesting to read. My .02

As someone that has lived in the GTR and Desoto/Memphis...had kids at State and OM ... Oxford has an advantage over Starkville because of their proximity to Desoto/Memphis. Many people visit Oxford because it is an easy one hour drive to and from Memphis. Starkville is closer to NW Rankin and Madison. However what can be done to lure people to Starkville from those areas??? Unfortunately some people in the GTR see Tuscaloosa as the place to go to shop and eat etc.

Columbus use to be the main commerce city of the GTR. However that has changed. All Starkville has to do is invest and built it and more locals will come to Starkville instead of Columbus or Tuscaloosa. I like what another poster said. Continue to develop area off 12, north of town, between 182 and 82. The idea of an outdoor mall (like tanger) is good. 82 is the main thoroughfare for visitors to enter Starkville and the town needs a front door, so to speak.

Other random, Starkville downtown is fine to me. You have Rosey Baby that is a local favorite. The Grill and Georgia Blue are nice hangouts. Restaurant Tyler is incredible. Hobies is fun to have a drink on the balcony. State fans need to just go back more often, patronize the establishments there now and add to the local economy. Football and baseball suck? Football weekends too expensive? Well go on non sports weekends and just enjoy the campus and visiting the awesome restaurants Starkville has to offer.

[cheewgumm]

I?m sure Starkville trying to do this but I would focus on bringing industry and jobs to Starkville.

Don?t worry about building bars or shopping centers - those will bike themselves if there are jobs that pay decently.

You can?t get a Nissan plant , I get that, but the one focus should industry and jobs.

That will grow the population and bring more $ to Starkville.

Starkville a goal ahold be population growth and Job growth.