GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) —  It’s homecoming time for the pirates and students, alumni and fans are gearing up for a big weekend, but local officials also want to remind people to stay safe.

Thousands of people are expected to flood the city of Greenville and Ecu’s campus over the next few days so police are working hard to keep the peace.

This is good news for Ecu junior Ariele Reid who plans to participate in the festivities.

“I like the police,” said Reid. “Anything can happen with the world right now so as long as they are there I feel extra safe.”

Lt Chris Sutton, ECU Police, said he is glad he and his team can bring peace of mind, but he also wants you to be proactive.

“For the patrons that are coming and tailgating and are coming to the games if they could secure their items,” said Sutton. “We will continue to make safety our priority and then try to work off of other objectives like customer service to make sure we have a safe friendly environment for our patrons to come.”

Because of ECU’s homecoming this weekend there will be an abundance of visitors coming to town.

Owner of the Blackened Kracken says this is one of their favorite times and they are very prepared.

“We are really excited and we have to make sure we are staffed well and make sure we increase our inventory for food and prepare for the amour of people that are going to be down here,” said Andrew Kirchner, Blackened Kracken owner. “We want to stay in tip-top shape so when alumni come back they are proud of the new developments in uptown.”