KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Vols brought home the College World Series trophy and Knoxville businesses are now reaping the rewards of the win. Vols fans cheered on the baseball team as they progressed through each game during the championship.
"That was atypical of a home football game," said Charles Ellis, the general manager of Yee-Haw Brewing Co. "We'll get a very large crowd for those games. But we've never seen anything like that for baseball. It was incredible."
As the team made their way through the finals, Hunter Gushurst, the general manager of Monday Night Brewing at Kern's Food Hall, said the fans' momentum kept going.
"It was definitely a surprise to us," said Gushurst. "I mean, just hanging on every night, waiting to see if we're gonna have another game the next day. So, we ended up having to call a couple of people in last minute on Sunday night for the game on Monday."
When the team won on Monday, they weren't the only ones breaking records.
"We actually broke a record for any Mondays since we've opened up," said Ellis. "It was an incredible couple, a couple of weeks here. The World Series was incredible. We had all kinds of families out, everybody making memories."
Gushurst said his lounge also did well during those days. He said the business has only been open since mid-April, which gave him a preview of what the fall could look like.
"It was pretty crazy," said Gushurst. "It was a good look into what football season's gonna bring. We did about double our normal numbers for the day."
Ellis agreed. He said the College World Series crowds gave him more to look forward to during football season. Both breweries said they'll continue to play big sporting events throughout the rest of the year.
"It bodes well for our football season crowd," he said. We always have a huge crowd for football game days. You know, people coming out with their kids, their friends, their families. It's always a great time."