Columbia businesses anxiously await final decision from SEC on if football will be played this fall

The Columbia Chamber says retail businesses, hotels, restaurants, and bars could lose customers if a season is not played

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — Several businesses across Columbia are anxiously awaiting a decision from the SEC on if they will play football this fall.

Even if games are played with fewer fans in the stands, some business experts say this will still have an impact on some businesses’ bottom lines.

Lindsay Hammer, the Retail Manager for Barefoot Campus Outfitter in Columbia, said the lead-up to football season is often busy due to students moving in and fans wanting to get some new Gamecock gear.

“We’re trying to be optimistic, the move-in this is huge for us, and we have about two or three weeks of all this continuing, and everyone’s excited to be back, so I think that will stay for a little while,” Hammer said.

Some are worried a football season might not even take place.

Just days after the SEC, the conference the University of South Carolina belongs to, announced they would be playing a conference-only schedule, several conferences, like the Big Ten and Pac-12, are now looking at playing football in the spring.

If the SEC and ACC follow suit, then several businesses, like restaurants, bars, and merchandise stores, could be hit with heavy losses.

“It certainly would be painful quite frankly if we don’t have football. It’s a huge fiscal impact, and so not having it will be hard. Can we get through it? Absolutely. And we will, we’re a resilient community,” said Carl Blackstone, the President and CEO of the Columbia Chamber.

With fewer people possibly coming to Columbia to stay in hotels, go out to eat, and have a night on the town leading up to football games, Kelly Barbrey, the Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Experience Columbia, said the Capital City is still a viable place for people to go even in the middle of a pandemic.

“What we’re hoping for is if they have fans and we can continue to push those safety measures, show people that Columbia knows how to treat people and distance and wearing the masks, and then they’d come out with their family or their pandemic pod,” Barbrey said. 

Hammer says she is hopeful a football season takes place, but if there isn’t one, her team will adapt.

“People are still going to buy stuff and honestly, a lot of the students shop and don’t necessarily go to the game, just for a game day outfit and maybe not even going into the game in the first place, so we’re hoping if there’s games, they will still come in and buy merchandise around that time,” Hammer said.

Greg Sankey, the Commissioner of the SEC, put out a statement shortly after the Big Ten and Pac-12 made their decisions, saying:

“I look forward to learning more about the factors that led the Big Ten and Pac-12 leadership to take these actions today. I remain comfortable with the thorough and deliberate approach that the SEC and our fourteen members are taking to support a healthy environment for our student-athletes. We will continue to further refine our policies and protocols for a safe return to sports as we monitor developments around COVID-19 in a continued effort to support, educate and care for our student-athletes every day.”