It can easily be said that sports, and particularly football, occupy a role at the center of daily life in many college towns across the country. Every weekend in the fall, college towns plan for an influx of visitors, more than doubling their population, which creates a unique set of challenges.
For example, when the University of Alabama plays at home in Tuscaloosa, the population more than doubles, costing an estimated $750,000 in city overtime but benefiting the local economy by $17 to $18 million.
Join ELGL and the International Town and Gown Association (ITGA) this fall for a special GovLove podcast series where we go inside college towns across the country to learn how they collaborate with universities to prepare, control and quickly recover from welcoming so many people into their community. We’ll dive into topics on trash pickup, security, budget implications, traffic operations, mass transit, economic impact and so much more.