by Fred Seely
Editorial Director
The Gator Bowl Association is winding up its renewal campaign and tickets will go on sale to the general public May 1.
But don’t expect to get a Club Seat for the New Year’s Day game. There’s a deep waiting list.
“It’s tremendous how far along we are in ticket sales,” GBA president Rick Catlett told about 100 officers and directors at the association’s monthly meeting at the Radisson. “When we release those tickets which weren’t renewed, the Club Seats will all be gone.”
The attention then turns to new sales and the association has formed a dozen sales teams to scour the area for new prospects.
“We need to sell 25,000 tickets before the teams are announced,” said GBA chairman Bob White, the local president of Compass Bank. “We have a good start, but we have a long way to go.”
During the meeting, the association leaders saw the Jaguars’ presentation on the $40 million stadium renovations with Jaguars vice president Bill Prescott explaining the changes. Included is a new sports bar, a new skybox with individual seating and elevators and escalators.
“We’ll have one of the best two or three stadiums in the nation,” he said.
Catlett, pointing out that the Gator Bowl could be in line for a college playoff game if the current system is expanded from one game to a tournament, said the changes will have a major impact on the city’s chances.
“They’re going to look at facilities,” he said, “and they’re going to see a jewel here.”
But, he said, the seats have to be filled for Gator Bowl games and, thus, tickets have to be sold.
“We can’t risk having a game with 45,000 [instead of 75,000] sitting in the stands,” he said. “That’s an impression we don’t want to make.”