The Alabama-LSU Saturday night showdown in Tiger Stadium is shaping up to the biggest day of the year—not only for local football fans but also for Baton Rouge.
LSU is expecting some 150,000 people on campus Saturday for tailgating leading up to the 7 p.m. kickoff, which is even more fans than what descended upon campus for the Oct. 13 Georgia game, says LSU Senior Associate Athletic Director Robert Munson.
Because the two teams are so highly ranked—Alabama is No. 1, LSU No. 3—and face-off in the primetime slot on CBS, everyone who has anything to do with college football will be at the game or watching it, Munson says.
“The largest contingent of media we’ve ever had will be here,” he says. “We will have more eyes on Baton Rouge than ever before.”
The big game is also already proving a boon for local businesses involved in the game-day theatrics.
Baton Rouge Chef Don Bergeron says it will be the largest sales day of the year for his catering business, adding that he has had to start turning away business due to the number of orders already booked for Saturday.
“Since LSU has been winning, events went up immensely, almost a scary amount,” Bergeron says with a laugh. “This is my 12th season catering at LSU, and Saturday will be the biggest day I’ve seen since I’ve been in business.”
At Walk On’s, festivities also kicked off early, as the restaurant hosted ESPN’s “Golic and Wingo” radio show live from its Burbank location starting at 5 a.m. this morning.
Owner Brandon Landry says he expects Alabama-LSU to be as big, if not bigger, than the Georgia game for his restaurant, which is a popular spot for fans as it’s within walking distance of Tiger Stadium.
“Up until three weeks ago, the Alabama game of 2012 was the largest day ever for us,” Landry says. “Three weeks ago, the Georgia game beat it. This game will be close.”
The advantage of the Georgia game was the timing. A 2:30 p.m. gametime is typically better for nearby restaurants, Landry says, because fans are more likely to go out after the game ends, whereas with a night game, after a full day of tailgating, fans don’t get out of the stadium until after 11 p.m.
“As a fan, I love night games,” Landry says. “As a business owner near LSU, 2:30 games are great for us.”
Still, his team has been preparing all week and is expecting thousands to show up come Saturday. With 15 years of LSU game-day experience, Walk On’s has become somewhat of an expert at handling the college football crowds. And that takes work.
“We literally do two-weeks worth of business in one day,” Landry says.
