Starkville’s Cotton District could again host Bulldog Bash this year after a request was filed with the city to hold the annual outdoor concert at the intersection of University Drive and Nash Street, documents show.
A special event application filed with the city shows the Mississippi State University Student Association proposes setting up the event’s stage in front of Coconuts, a Curt Crissey-owned gas station, and barricading key entrance points along University Drive and connecting feeder streets.
Community Development Director Buddy Sanders said the pending request will go before Starkville aldermen on Aug. 2.
MSUSA previously announced it would move the event from the intersection of University Drive and Maxwell Street to the university’s amphitheater due to logistical issues with development in the Cotton District, but Crissey confirmed to The Dispatch last week he had offered space in front of his store in an attempt to keep Bulldog Bash within city limits.
MSUSA President Roxanne Raven declined to comment on the event application and directed current and future inquiries to MSU’s Office of Public Affairs.
This year’s Bulldog Bash budget is estimated at $200,000, documents show. It is unknown if that figure includes in-kind requests from Starkville and money expected from sponsorships.
Specifically, the application asks Starkville for trash collection services, site visits from Starkville Utilities and police department assistance with street closures. MSUSA, it states, will provide security through an events operations group.
Event insurance information required within 30 days of Bulldog Bash was not part of MSUSA’s application. Greater Starkville Development Partnership Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Gregory said her organization will handle that portion of the application in the future.
Some MSUSA initiatives and programs, including Bulldog Bash, are funded through a portion of Starkville’s 2 percent food and beverage tax, which applies an additional levy to the 7 percent sales tax on all meals and drinks prepared in bars and restaurants inside city limits.
A budget approved by Starkville aldermen last summer showed the city projected a $358,000 allotment from 2 percent food and beverage tax to MSUSA for Fiscal Year 2016. The total increased to $390,000 when combined with $32,000 in surplus 2 percent funds from FY 2015.
Approximately $145,000 was earmarked then for Bulldog Bash, the approved budget states.
Aldermen declined to comment on the proposal since MSUSA had yet to make its own announcement Tuesday.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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