by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
Officials from the Super Bowl committee attended the St. Augustine/St. Johns County Board of Realtors® meeting last month to let know how real estate agents can help when the Super Bowl arrives in 2005.
“One of the ways real estate agents can get involved is that we will need some rental houses, especially those along the beach and along the river,” said Pat Duncan, a member of the Super Bowl Host Committee. “Primarily, it will be corporate people coming into the Super Bowl, so we will want to have high-end houses for entertainment.
“Sixty-five percent of the people who come to a Super Bowl are corporate executives who make decisions for their companies. This is not just a regular football game; this is the creme dé la creme of football games.”
“A Super Bowl coming to Jacksonville — what an exciting opportunity to have,” said Duncan. “It is an opportunity. Jacksonville is the smallest market ever to be awarded a Super Bowl so it’s not just coming to Jacksonville, it’s coming to our region. We have about 2,500 hotel rooms that are blocked in St. Johns County and we couldn’t do it without you. This is definitely a regional opportunity, not just just for Jacksonville.”
He said they will need 30,000 hotel rooms in the region and about 8,000 of those will be on cruise ships.
“We will need 120,000 room nights throughout the region,” said Duncan. “A little more than 100,000 people will be here over a period of about 10 days, most of them being here Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Prior to the game, they will spend about $1,000 each while they are here on an average. That is about $100 million into our community.”
Brian Sexton, the radio play-by-play announcer for the Jacksonville Jaguars, also addressed the group.
“REALTORS® are the most brightest, most optimistic people in any given community, because you have to be,” said Sexton. “My wife is a REALTOR®, so I understand the challenges you all face.”
Sexton went on to describe some of the changes that the stadium will encounter for the Super Bowl.
“The stadium is about to undergo a $50 million dollar face lift,” said Sexton. “The city is putting about $10 million in the kitty and the Jaguars and the National Football League are putting in the rest.”
Changes to the stadium will include, new entrances, an escalator, more entertainment and more parking.