HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WHLT) – For the fourth time in program history, the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) will host a NCAA Regional Tournament this weekend. The impact of the game goes far beyond the baseball field.

About 10,000 fans are expected to be in the Hub City this weekend. Tourism officials said nearly every hotel in the city is booked.

“Revenue comes in from out of town. People get to enjoy themselves. They deposit their revenue into our local restaurants, into our local hotels. And that in turn turns into tax dollars, which come back into the city so that we can continue to make improvements and make Hattiesburg the great city that it is,” said Frank James III, chairman of the Hattiesburg Tourism Commission.

Restaurants have staffed up for the rush.

“For restaurants coming just out of one of our slowest times of the year, getting over that winter time slum, everybody’s starting to get out, kids are finally out of school, families are finally going out to eat again. So really, it’s honestly a great boost for us. So, we’ll take it when we can get it. If we could have more Regionals, I would love to,” said William Thomas, Front of House supervisor for Ed’s Burger Joint.

“We will have a good share of people coming in just because the tickets are hard to come by right now. And we have a good baseball following here at 4th Street. So, I think that will have a lot of Southern Miss faithful in here watching the games,” said Slade White, owner of 4th Street Bar.

The weekend could be a grand slam and bring in around $4 million in revenue.

Places like Serengeti Springs, the Hattiesburg Zoo and local theaters are also expected to be busy this weekend.