State Games of Mississippi was forced to postpone its traditional late May start date in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and some events like the opening ceremonies were eventually canceled because of safety concerns.

Despite the challenges, State Games was able to host more than half of its usual competitions, wrapping up its summer slate last weekend with the youth baseball Grand Slam Tournament last weekend. Even with a reduced presence this year, Visit Meridian Executive Director Dede Mogollon said having State Games bring in competitors out of town helped Meridian economically following a rough spring, though hard data on its economic impact is unavailable this year.

“Traditionally, they go in and do an economic impact study every five years,” Mogollon explained. “I cannot remember the last time they did it, and even if this year was the year it was scheduled to be done, I doubt they’ll do that. We don’t have an exact way of knowing.”

Still, Mogollon said after businesses were forced to close for several weeks in the spring, having sporting competitions like State Games on weekends or the Honor The Game Wood Bat League on weekdays throughout the summer were critical in helping local businesses recoup some of the income they lost during the shutdowns.

“Fortunately, we had a better-than-expected summer, and State Games was part of that,” Mogollon said. “It was crucial. Without them, we would have been in a much more dire circumstance. We saw everything bottom out in April — our hotels were running at less than 20% occupancy — so to have these events that weren’t necessarily one big weekend but were spread out throughout the summer has really saved a lot of our businesses. Unfortunately, so many things had to be canceled because it just wasn’t safe to hold them, so we’ve all been incredibly thankful for everything that’s been able to happen and did not get canceled.”

Meridian Mayor Percy Bland said he was grateful State Games had a presence on most summer weekends.

“It kept the ball moving,” Bland said. “We were glad we were able to get as much in as we could. We probably didn’t get in everything that we wanted to, but it helped our economy because a lot of people came through here to compete.”

Bobbie Harmon, State Games’ director of marketing and development, said the COVID-19 pandemic made it an unprecedented year in terms of hosting competitions but said having events this summer not only helped the local economy but also gave people something to which they could look forward.

“We quickly learned by the overwhelming turnout that people wanted to get out and be a part of something,” Harmon said. “Had we not been able to have any games this year, it would have greatly affected our hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions and gas stations. We were thrilled to be able to have more than half of our regularly scheduled events so we could bring people into the city from other areas in our state.”

State Games has several events planned in the fall: the Mountain Biking competition Oct. 4 and the Martial Arts tournament Nov. 7, as well as the annual Pumpkin Run fundraiser on Oct. 17. Harmon also said State Games is planning to return to its regular schedule next summer.