Game Day is a very exciting day for many red and black fans. When the gates open and the stadium fills up with over 100,000 screaming fans, the excitement is addictive. After the game, there is usually one place those fans head to, and that is downtown Athens.

For local businesses, its a different kind of excitement. Those thousands of fans will end up spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in bars, restaurants and boutique stores. Every football season this is what business owners look forward to. According to Cameron Yohr, who is assistant manager of Amici Italian Cafe, business could double or sometimes triple every football game.

“Win or lose people are still going to come downtown since we are so close to the stadium. If they lose, bar service is big, people try to cope with the sorrows.”
Tony Abdelmalek is a local resident who also owns an authentic Egyptian restaurant called Taza. He understands the importance of UGA football games for local businesses. Abdelmalek mentions that when people help local businesses it shows a good side of not only the University, but also the town itself.

“It shows how awesome this University is, and how awesome this town is. It really speaks to that and I’m proud.”