by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Currently, the Super Bowl Host Committee is operating out of a temporary office in the Bank of America tower. That may change, soon.
Mike Weinstein, president and CEO of the host committee, as well as a mayoral candidate, and several other host committee members are looking for a new office, preferably in the downtown area.
Last week, they checked into a space on the second floor of the Elks Building on Laura Street.
“We are looking for space because right now we are in temporary offices,” said Weinstein. “One of the spaces we are looking into is in the old Elks Building.”
With a current staff of six, the Host Committee is in the initial stages of getting Jacksonville ready for the world, the 2005 Super Bowl and the tens of thousands of people that will be in town for the game. In addition to the Elks Building, Weinstein said he was considering space in the First Union and St. Joe buildings.
“We’d like to be downtown,” said Weinstein. “We have people coming in to consider sponsorships and being downtown is important. It’s not an absolute necessity, but I’d like our offices to be downtown.”
Over the course of the next two years, Weinstein said he figures to more than double his staff. Right now he needs 3,000-4,000 square feet. However, when the Dalton Agency, the public relations firm handling the 2005 Super Bowl for the Host Committee, is thrown into the mix, the space needed grows dramatically.
“In the beginning, we will have about a half a dozen but we will grow to about 12-14,” he said. “We also need inventory and storage space. Dalton is also looking at space and they need about 10,000 square feet. So, we are looking together.”
As the game gets closer, Weinstein said the needs and dynamics of his office will change. This first move will be to more of a corporate-type atmosphere. Then, they’ll look to relocate to a more workman-like environment.
“We’ll be in a professional office environment for about two years, then we’ll move into a different style office,” said Weinstein. “We’ll need a space that has some office space, but also something we can get trucks and supplies into. We’ll need some warehouse and meeting space.”
Weinstein had no idea where the second office may end up, but he did say there is no way the Host Committee would build something new.
One of the reasons the second office will have to be roomier and less formal is because it will have to be capable of handling the thousands of volunteers that will be needed for the 2005 game.
“Tampa [the site of last season’s Super Bowl] had about 6,000 volunteers,” said Weinstein. “That’s how many they needed to handle the 134 Super Bowl-related events that take place from noon on Thursday of that week until kickoff. I would anticipate we would have about that many [events in 2005].”