By Sarah Gill | Broadcast Reporter
ESPN’s College GameDay began setting up outside of McLane Stadium on Thursday. Both the Baylor Bears and the Waco Community are gearing up for the nationwide exposure.
“Everybody’s going to be descending on Waco to see the Bears win again against Oklahoma, and the fever has been caught by ESPN too,” Carla Pendergraft, Director of Marketing for the Waco Convention Center and Visitors Bureau, said. “They do not bring GameDay unless it’s one of the really winning teams like Baylor is now.”
One of the first things a visitor might notice is the construction along the I-35. Pendergraft says she sees it in a positive light, no matter how much of a hassle it may be at times. After all, it is a $300 million reconstruction project.
Construction workers are constantly on the clock moving through several different projects across town at the same time.
“The more we can have under construction, the less time it’s going to take,” Ken Roberts, Waco TxDot Public Information Officer, said.
With the anticipated increase in traffic, the progress will be slowed down for the weekend.
“We won’t have anything that’s going to impact the flow of traffic,” Roberts said. “Although there will be work that will be taking place off of the main lanes, off of the roadway itself.”
All eyes will be on Waco and the Baylor community. Pendergraft gave a reminder on how to treat tourists, even if they are an Oklahoma Sooner.
“When you visit a place, you like it when somebody helps you,” Pendergraft said. “Sometimes that person is the person you remember more than anything else about your trip; someone who was kind to you.”
College GameDay will be live 8-11 a.m. Saturday.
