Thousands of Tiger fans will flock to Tuscaloosa for the biggest college football game in the nation as LSU takes on Bama on Saturday. Don’t already have accommodations? President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama Jim Page says area hotels have been booked for months.
“Not just Tuscaloosa area hotels, but really, hotels in every direction that you drive from here will be filled up, and so they will be at a premium,” Page said.
Tuscaloosa has a population of about 100,000 but on any typical game day, Page says that number can double or triple.
“I would be hard-pressed to guess a figure but we do say that we become the largest city in Alabama on game days, and that will certainly be the case this Saturday,” he said.
Fans going to the game can expect intense traffic. College Gameday will be broadcasting from the campus and security will also be slowing things down as President Trump will be in attendance at the game. Page says game day revelers will certainly need to give themselves extra time to get where they are going on campus.
“Get to Tuscaloosa, get to downtown, get to campus as early as you possibly can so that you can beat the traffic," Page said. "If you can come in on Friday, that’s great, but certainly come in early on Saturday. Then be prepared to stay a little longer than normal.”
Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m.