Local businesses prepare for lull after last Texas A&M conference game
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – Saturday is Texas A&M’s last conference game at Kyle Field, and local businesses are preparing for a post-season slowdown.
“We do get more money or revenue whenever we have the football games,” Paige Coulter, managing partner at The Cookshack, said.
The Cookshack has two concession stands at Kyle Field. According to Coulter, their connection with the university helps keep revenue high, making an impact on their brick and mortar location.
“Definitely we are way more profitable having income over at the stadium,” she said.
In 2022, data from the Texas Comptroller showed the food service and hotel industries in College Station brought in over $600 million, over half of that coming from sales during the football season. When the season ends, Coulter says business slows down, but big events like Ring Day and graduation still keep them busy.
“Everything kind of starts to dwindle down towards the end of the football season,” she said.
The same dataset shows that hotel and food service sales dropped over $20 million from the end of football season in 2021 to the beginning of 2022. Even when Aggie Gameday isn’t bringing people into town, Coulter says the university still makes up a majority of their business. However, she says the impact isn’t quite the same.
“All the other events in town still keep us afloat,” she said, “I don’t think it’s the same, but I mean, Texas A&M brings a lot of people into town.”
Compare the 2021 and 2022 gross sales for accommodation and food service in College Station below.
