Buckeye fans are not alone in counting down the days and hours until the start of the football season.
Businesses near the Ohio State University campus know that the return of the Bucks means big bucks for them as well, with four home games over the next four weeks.
"You have a lot of people crawl out of the woodwork for the Buckeyes, to get the Buckeye gear," said Across The Field owner Eric Miller. "Now it's crunch time. Everybody's coming out."
Despite the economy, Miller described 2010 as the best year his business has seen. Across The Field is responding by capitalizing on the seasonal demand for Buckeye merchandise and apparel.
"We had a customer just walk in the door, he said, 'How late are you guys open?' And I said, 'Well, we were here until 2 am last night and we were open." Miller said. "If we're here, if the lights are on, we're open'."
Miller said the hottest seller this summer is Buckeye Silly Bandz, on sale at $8.99 a pack.
"We ordered 100 sets of them and we sold out in less than a week," Miller said.
Farther north on Olentangy River Road at Fairfield Inn and Suites, general manager Frank Nichols said hotel rooms are already sold out for the first three games of the season.
"August has been a good month for us, September is going to be an absolutely outstanding month for us," Nichols said. "The year hasn't been great, but I'm doing a little better than last year and I think we're pretty happy with that."
The return of students to the classroom also helps nearby stores, but Nichols said the football crowds are vital to the profitability of many local businesses.
"You can certainly make up some other times that are slow, you can make up a lot of traffic with football," Nichols said.
For the latest news and information, stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com.
To submit a story idea or news tip, e-mail stories@nbc4i.com.
MORE: NBC 4 Local News | Local Crime News
NBC 4 SPORTS: Sports News, Video
NBC 4 POLITICS: Headlines, Interactives & Video
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement