Law enforcement and city officials preparing for large crowds at Ole Miss vs. LSU game

With the rivalry game between Ole Miss versus LSU taking place this weekend, Mayor Robyn Tannehill says the city of Oxford is expecting to take in over 200,000 visitors. 

“That will be on top of the 26,000 full-time residents, 26,00 students, and our county's population is 59,000,” Tannehill said. “So it could easily be around 300,000 folks this weekend, and we are excited to show off our community and watch the Rebels get a win.” 

Tannehill said that city officials estimate the weekend could generate between from $30 million to $70 million in revenue. She said the difference this year is the number of additional events and concerts scheduled before the rivalry game, turning the typical three-day weekend into a four- or five-day stretch and bringing in even more visitors. 

The long weekend means visitors need places to stay. Hotels across Lafayette County are mostly sold out, with hotel listings online show increased room prices for game day weekend. 

Tannehill said that because of all the buzz this weekend, the city and law enforcement are taking extra steps for security and safety. 

"We have spent an enormous amount of time planning public safety, even things like how many times the garbage cans will be emptied on the downtown square, what square cleanup looks like, and making sure that we have the water capacity in place,” Tannehill said. 

Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell said campus police and local law departments will partner with Louisiana State Police and mounted patrols from Alabama. He said that Mississippi police presence will be more than doubled, with additional security like helicopters and a special operations group will be patrolling the campus area. 

“Law enforcement's working hand-in-hand, and we expect them to, while there might be a rivalry, put it in perspective and have a great game day experience and enjoy the game without there being any other inappropriate activities or fights or, you know, things of that nature that could cause a lot of problems,” Tindell said. 

He said the partnerships are in place to ensure both teams enjoy the rivalry on game day without getting out of hand.  

“What everybody ultimately is wanting to see is a battle on the field, not in the parking lot,” Tindell said. “Let's let these two teams play the best games of their lives on national TV and represent Mississippi in the Southeastern Conference.” 

Oxford Police Public Information Officer Breck Jones said the department is prepared. 

“We have a great safety plan and great staff. We are thinking it's obviously going to be a big weekend, but we do seven home football weekends every year,” Jones said. “So not too much of a difference on our end.” 

Jones encourages anyone attending the game or visiting Oxford to stay updated on traffic and safety conditions by checking the Oxford Police Department Facebook channels. 

Some tickets for the game are still available online, but limited availability has some prices up to $8,000 for one ticket. Fans can also go online for future game tickets and information.