Perception of Starkville

[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...**

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.