A busy weekend in neighboring Oxford brought a welcome surge in economic activity to Batesville.

Panola Partnership credits events at Ole Miss and Oxford’s Double Decker Art Festival for a spike in local spending and hotel use.

According to the Panola Partnership, local hotels in Batesville saw a notable uptick in occupancy, confirmed by Danielle Palmertree, manager of Home2 Suites, Comfort Suites and Hampton Inn. 

The increase was attributed to the influx of visitors attending the three-game Ole Miss vs. Vanderbilt baseball series and the annual Double Decker Arts Festival.

“Many visitors choose to stay in our city, dine at our local eateries, and shop at our stores, especially when nearby venues reach capacity or when we offer more attractive accommodations,” said Joe Azar, CEO of the Panola Partnership. “Even on weekends when there are not big events happening in our city, we are still able to reap the benefits of our location. It’s a strong point that our office makes to prospective businesses regularly.”

City leaders say the impact goes beyond full hotel rooms. Batesville directly benefits from tourism tax revenues generated by these visitors. Those funds are reinvested in the community, supporting projects such as the recent Crappie National Championship at Sardis Lake, enhancements to the Batesville Civic Center, beautification efforts and expanded visitor services.

“This is also a great example of regionalism,” Azar said. “We have never worked more closely with our neighboring counties as we are now. In a way, you could see it as an economic circle of life. We look forward to the day of having our own sports complex to host families and friends from all over.”

City officials have grappled with the complexities of financing, constructing, and ultimately operating a sports complex. A proposed site behind Lowe’s has been discussed at several meetings, and initial drawings and proposals have been passed around, but no official action has been taken.

Senatobia, Oxford, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven all have major sport complexes that bring hundreds of thousands of dollars into those local economies each year.