COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Businesses all over Aggieland are prepping for increased traffic of football fans and making extra room in their cash registers for the boom in revenue.
One business owner said she and her crew are ready for the return of increased customers.
“When you have a team that’s playing that well it brings even more fans and when you have more fans you are bringing more dollars into the community," said Meredith McAuliffe, owner of Sabi Boutique.
AP released the preseason college football rankings and Texas A&M, which finished last season unranked, starts this season at number six.
Jeremiah Cook of Visit College Station said it’s not just football season, but tourism season as well.
“Obviously these preseason rankings are super exciting, and we have high expectations for the Aggie football team this year, but as the season gets underway that excitement only grows into that fever pitch, and we are excited to move into that," said Cook.
Cook said while football draws in thousands to the Brazos Valley, that College Station is continually growing to offer even more to those who come into town.
“The football team draws a lot and we are excited about this coming season, but there is also so much to do around town – it’s not the same College Station that it was maybe when you graduated 20 or 30 years ago - it’s a really rapidly growing town," said Cook.
Being in business for over 12 years, owners like McAuliffe said no matter how much time passes or what the teams are ranked, she continues to give that big Aggie welcome to the tourists from all around.
“As soon as fall kicks off there is so much excitement in the air, we all love that everyone flocks to College Station to support local businesses ... we hope we can give that experience with visitors from out of town," said McAuliffe.
The Aggies return to Kyle Field on September 3 against the Sam Houston Bearkats for their season opener.