More than 6,000 NCAA Cross Country Championship tickets sold
Euphenie Andre
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The NCAA Cross Country Championships drew one of the largest crowds Gans Creek has ever seen — and that turnout is expected to bring in more than a million dollars into the local economy.
Mizzou Cross Country Assistant Head Coach Paige Duca confirmed to ABC 17 News on Saturday that 6,085 tickets were sold for Saturday’s meet. By comparison, the NCAA reported on social media that roughly 5,000 tickets were sold for the 2023 championship at the University of Virginia, a number that reflected a sold out crowd.
With a crowd this large, some traffic was expected. After the meet concluded around noon, Route 63 experienced minor congestion comparable to typical rush-hour traffic. Meanwhile, East Gans Road, Bristol Lake Parkway, and Discovery Parkway remained clear due to the shuttle services that helped alleviate traffic.
Large school buses acted as shuttles, transporting thousands of fans back to their vehicles throughout the morning. Fans traveling from several hours away said parking and shuttles were easy to navigate.
“I had a great experience. I pulled up to the parking lot that I had a ticket with and the shuttle was pretty much ready to go. It took like 5 minutes to get here. I didn’t have any traffic getting here,” David Mannella said.
Many attendees complimented the city and university for organizing a smooth, well-executed event.
Megan McConachie with the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau told ABC 17 News about the extensive planning and logistics involved in hosting the meet.
“The turnout is amazing,” Head Coach at the University of Oklahoma James Thomas said. . “It’s almost impossible to navigate in person because it’s a huge turnout for a cross-country event. I’ve been to about five or six of them in my day. This was my second time as a head coach and I haven’t seen anything like it, so far incredible.”
Saturday’s championship announcer David Lile said the event was years in the making.
“Some of the Parks and Recreation guys were hired five years ago and this was immediately their concern. So, this took a lot of work by a lot of people in this community,” Lile said.
2024 Olympian Isabella Whittaker was among those in attendance and said Gans Creek is a spectator-friendly cross-country venue.
“I think it was great because I got to see her [her sister, Juliette Whittaker] run several times throughout the race. The course is built very well for spectators,” Whittaker said.
The crowds didn’t just fill the concourse — they filled the city. The Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates the event will bring in $1.2 million.
Lester Hampton, father of former Mizzou Track and Field star Gabi Jacobs– who recently competed at the 2025 Outdoor World Championship in Tokyo– said he visits Columbia often. When he’s in town, he said his daughter always takes him to local favorites, like Booches and the Broadway Diner.
Stanford athlete Juliette Whittaker told ABC 17 News the team enjoyed a group dinner at Addison’s restaurant downtown earlier in the week. She said she and Stanford alumni explored the city during their free time and noticed an unmistakable “championship atmosphere,” with athletes and families filling nearly every corner of downtown.
Local businesses also felt the rush. On Thursday, ABC 17 News spoke with The Park Restaurant, located just minutes from Gans Creek, which reported an influx of customers tied to the championship. Another business, the Travelin Tom’s Coffee pop-up truck, set up directly in the course’s parking lot and served spectators for hours.
“It’s been super busy all morning, but we love it,” Jackson Deney, an employee said. “It’s a really big community event and we love to come to stuff like this.”
Deney said they were told to prepare for roughly 5,000 customers. He could not provide an exact number of drinks sold but estimated the total to be well over a thousand.
Mizzou coaches and the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau told ABC 17 News that they would welcome the opportunity to host more major championships in the future.