HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WHLT) – Business and tourism is expected to boom in Hattiesburg this weekend during the 2023 Super Regional.

Southern Miss is just one of two teams in the country to host Super Regionals in back-to-back seasons, joining Stanford as the only other program to do so. The team will face Tennessee.

Hattiesburg businesses are gearing up for large crowds and a big boost in sales.

Visit Hattiesburg officials expect thousands of people will make their way to the Hub City for the game.

“Sports tourism is huge in Hattiesburg, and we always look forward to rolling out the red carpet to many guests who come and watch our favorite teams play. When we run the numbers, we’re looking at anywhere from a $3.5 million impact to upwards of $5 million,” said Marlo Dorsey, executive director for Visit Hattiesburg.

“We’re going to see a huge impact of just a lot of people, who have never been downtown before, who are looking to get downtown, and people are just discovering us as a whole,” said Mallorie Pittman, PR coordinator for Front Street Eats and Hattiesburgers & Blues restaurant.

“They call it Base-Burg for a reason, so we enjoy that. When they’re successful, we’re successful. We really do see an uptick in sales for the whole week,” said Justin Harris, co-owner of Fuzzy’s Taco Shop.

Game one of the 2023 Hattiesburg Super Regional will take place on Saturday, June 10 at 2:00 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPNU.

The winner of series will clinch one of eight spots at the 2023 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.