by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
When you’ve hosted an event as often as Jacksonville has the annual gridiron clash between the University of Florida and the University of Georgia, you have a complete understanding of what it takes to make the event a success for all concerned.
That was the consensus Monday when all of the local players met for an update on this year’s preparations. Subjects and services covered ranged from Public Works to parking, booster clubs to shuttle buses, Sideline Student Safety Zones and sweeping the streets after the visitors head home.
“We do this each year as a way to sit down with all the City entities, representatives from the two schools and their local clubs and find out if we need to tweak anything involved with the event in any way,” said Mike Bouda, Sports & Entertainment Coordinator for the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission.
While many of the agencies involved work on dozens of similar events throughout the year, the two teams’ local booster clubs go into high gear for the weekend and for them it’s a once-a-year special event.
Judy McMillan, secretary of the Gator Club of Jacksonville, said not many spaces are still available at the club’s parking concession at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds and added, “This meeting allows us to interface with SMG (stadium management) and the Sheriff’s Office to make sure parking runs smoothly.”
Bud McClesky from the Bulldog Club of Jacksonville agreed.
“We’re the largest Bulldog Club in America and we feed more than 2,500 each year on game day. We’re here to make sure we do whatever we can to make sure all of our fans have as good a time as they can while they’re here,” he said.
Not much will change for this year’s game other than a third Sideline Student Safety Zone in addition to last year’s locations near the stadium and at Independent Square.
“The program has been so well-received we’re adding another location to provide services at the Landing this year,” said Theresa Price, director of Special Events for the City.
The other change from previous years is the Jaguars will host Monday Night Football before the Fla. / Ga. game weekend. Bouda said the City is working with the schools to ask fans who are bringing their recreational vehicles not to arrive before midnight Tuesday.
“The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office will park early arrivals wherever they can, but RV City won’t be open until 6 a.m. Wednesday.”
The people who provide private parking places are also looking forward to the Gators and Bulldogs coming to town and they are also prepared for it. They count on the business each year just like local hoteliers, restaurants owners and retailers.
“It’s always the busiest weekend of the year. People can’t party and spend money until they get out of their cars. We budget for and count on the economic impact. It’s part of our planning each year,” said Mark Rimmer of Realistic Transportation Alternatives, Inc.
“It seems like the entire population of the southeast wants to park in Downtown Jacksonville. We’ll pick up more trash Fla. / Ga. weekend than in a typical month, but we don’t mind,” he added.
Rimmer also said several surface parking lots that have been available for the public at large in years past won’t be available this year because some of the Downtown restaurants have already rented those spaces for their patrons.
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority was represented by Joe Trotti, who said shuttle buses will run from the peripheral parking lots beginning three hours before kickoff and will return fans to their cars from the stadium for an hour after the end of the game. He also said JTA tested some new Downtown shuttle pickup places during last Saturday’s Florida State University vs. University of Alabama game and “Everything worked well. We had everybody back to their destinations within 50 minutes.”
Bouda also predicted the Gators vs. Bulldogs weekend is one thing that isn’t going to change in light of the City’s current budget challenges.
“Fla. / Ga. weekend will go on as usual,” he said.