Hotels across Aggieland are fully booked as Mexico-Brazil soccer match approaches

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – The Mexico-Brazil soccer match is set to happen Saturday, and hotels across Aggieland are bracing themselves for the gameday crowds.

While local hotels say summer is usually a quiet season for them, the match is bringing in a major increase of guests.

“At this point we are completely sold out,” Jose Otero, general manager of Hilton College Station & Conference Center, said.

Otero said large crowds like this are practically unheard of during the summer, outside of specific groups booking space at the hotel.

Those crowds, he said, are already starting to roll in. He’s expecting the bulk of people to show up Friday, but said guests have begun to arrive for the weekend as early as Thursday evening.

“It’s been one of the greatest summers that we got so far in my three years here,” he said.

Otero said fans staying at the hotel will have access to a free shuttle service to and from Kyle Field. He hopes to see the momentum from this summer’s events carry into the future.

”I dream about it because I think it’s actually in summers here, it is a prime opportunity for us to showcase our community,” he said.

The economic impact of the soccer match is being felt by hotels both near and far from Kyle Field. In South College Station, preparations for a busy weekend are underway at Hotel McCoy.

“We’re 10, 15 minutes away and we’re booked up as well just like the other hotels around the area,” marketing coordinator Chloe Weihausen said.

Summer may typically be slower in Aggieland, but the Mexico-Brazil soccer match is bringing in tourists for summertime spending.

“People don’t realize how much tourism can generate so much for a local community and shake things up,” Weihausen said.

Hotel McCoy is about a 10 to 15 minute drive from Kyle Field, without the expected traffic from the soccer match. They’re completely sold out of rooms for the next several days.

While the hotel does see a lot of business during Aggie football season, Weihausen said the fact they’re still fully booked despite being further from the stadium than other local hotels; sends a message about just how large the event really is for the community.

She said it’s not as common for them to be sold out of rooms, and was shocked to see how quickly they sold out for the soccer match.

”This just doesn’t happen every day, and we’re not a hotel that’s right next to the university and I think it speaks volumes of how big this is,” she said.