Upcoming Apple Cup weekend apex of busy fall in Pullman

It's fair to say Tawny Szumlas understands better than most how important home football game weekends are for local businesses

A sixth generation Pullman resident, Szumlas owns and manages Rico's Public House. She's also a Washington State University graduate with her fair share of fond memories celebrating Cougar football. Her first game as a student featured WSU winning a triple overtime thriller.

"It was always so much fun," Szumlas recalled. "We dedicated our whole day to the game, face-painting, tailgating, going to the game, and celebrating with friends and family."

Her father bought Rico's in 1980, and as its current caretaker, Szumlas is acutely aware of just how important a few weekends are to the success of the family business.

"Every home game matters," she said. "Each one pays a lot of bills."

At its core, Pullman is a small town, and so each opportunity to welcome the Cougar is vital, especially for the hospitality sector.

All these people come into town and have to eat and stay somewhere within the area. It brings much needed shot in arm of economic vitality.

"All these people come into town and have to eat and stay somewhere within the area," Szumlas said. "It brings much needed shot in arm of economic vitality."

Thousands of fans, of WSU and its rival the University of Washington, will descent upon Pullman in the days ahead. Restaurants and hotels across the city will be at their limit. Finding a hotel room within city limits is nigh on impossible at this stage, with rates rising and availability plummeting weeks in advance.

A cursory glance at home and vacation rental websites sees more than 100 options available on a non-football weekend in Pullman. Leading up to the Apple Cup, pickings are much slimmer, approximately two dozen on AirBnb. Earlier this fall, WSU opened up portions of its campus for camping for the weekend contest against the University of Idaho in an effort to see fan interest in the alternative accommodation.

The excitement fans bring to Pullman each home football weekend is matched by the community eager to welcome them back, according to Pullman Mayor Francis Benjamin.

"Home football weekends are an opportunity to showcase the city and WSU, as well as for individuals to come back and show their pride in their alma mater," Benjamin said. "From the alumni side, there's so much excitement to come back and relive cougar experience."

The fact that the Apple Cup sold out weeks in advance is a strong indicator that local businesses will be busy. Moving the rivalry game to September may also bring out more fair-weather fans that potentially skipped colder-weather games in the past.

Benjamin is particularly excited for WSU alums to see the revitalized downtown Pullman following a lengthy construction process. Its unveiling this fall coincides with enhanced weekend experiences being orchestrated by the university and civic organizations. That includes the return of First Down Fridays, which bring the community to downtown prior to Saturday festivities to sample local offerings and give fans fun experiences outside of Gesa Field.

"The university and the city are offering more events and more family-friendly activities because there's an understanding that when people come for a gameday, it's more than just a football game," Benjamin said. "We need the rest of these experiences for people that aren't football fans to give them a reason to travel to Pullman and leave with positive memories."

More information about upcoming First Down Friday events is available online.

WSU has also launched more non-football activities to enhance the weekend experience. This includes hosting a movie night as well as Saturday morning yoga sessions on Gesa Field. Earlier this month, the university brought up-and-coming country artist Wyatt Flores to the Palouse to kickoff homecoming weekend. Later this fall, WSU will host men's and women's basketball games prior to the football team facing off against Louisiana Tech, ensuring more opportunities to cheer on Cougar student-athletes.

Learn more about enhanced fan experiences by visiting WSU's Gameday Weekends' website.