by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
The decision on where the 2004 Army-Navy game will be played may come a lot sooner than previously expected. Officials from both schools have acknowledged that the 2004 game is being shopped around the country and Jacksonville is both among the cities interested in the game and a city both academies are considering.
“The decision will come before the game this year,” said Rick Greenspan, director of intercollegiate athletics at West Point. This year’s game is set for Dec. 7 at Giants Stadium. “We will put out RFPs [Requests for Proposals] before the end of this semester, which is at the end of May.”
(The 2003 game is set for Philadelphia, the most popular site of the game the last 20 years. However, the contract with Philadelphia expires after that game and the academies are looking elsewhere.)
Already the host to several annual college football games, including the Florida-Georgia game and the Toyota Gator Bowl, Jacksonville has plenty of upside. The weather that time of year can be excellent, the renovations to Alltel Stadium will be complete in anticipation of the 2005 Super Bowl, Jacksonville is a strong military town, there are ample hotel rooms available and it’s a good time of year for Jacksonville to host a major sporting event.
The one downside — and every city being considered must address it — is the fact that all 8,000 cadets and midshipmen attend the game every year, regardless of where it is played. According to Sports & Entertainment Board executive director Mike Sullivan, the host city will have to pay the transportation costs for the student bodies of both academies. And, Sullivan thinks that can be done.
“We will have to provide some type of transportation for the cadets and midshipmen. We have to house them and feed them and provide entertainment the night before the game,” said Sullivan, adding that the costs haven’t been formally addressed yet, but could be absorbed through a combination of private sponsorship and City money. “We also have to get them back to campus without missing a lot of school.”
Greenspan agreed with Sullivan that the biggest obstacle that each city — the list includes Tampa, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Philadelphia — will face is transporting the students. Greenspan added that bringing the game to a southern venue isn’t out of the question, but cities like Baltimore, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have a slight advantage in that they are reachable by bus, whereas Tampa and Jacksonville would require transportation by air.
“It’s not a pipe dream for the the game to be played in the South, but it’s a big challenge for those locations in regards to the travel time for both academies,” said Greenspan. “It’s the only football game in America where the entire student body is in attendance. Those costs have to be factored into the bid.”
The storied rivalry goes back over 100 years. Although the game hasn’t had any bearing on college football’s national championship or Heisman Trophy in decades, it is still regarded as one of the sport’s most intriguing, tradition-rich games and generally draws pretty good television ratings. For those reasons and many others, said Sullivan, the game appeals to Jacksonville. He said City officials would be pleased with landing the 2004 game, but would really like a long term contract similar to the one with Florida and Georgia.
“Obviously, our charge is to bring sports and entertainment to the city,” said Sullivan. “We would love a multi-year contract, but would take one game with the chance to put on a good show and go from there. We think we can fill up the stands. That would be about 70,000 seats without the temporary stands we bring in for the Florida-Georgia game.”
Sullivan also said the early December date represents an opportunity to fill a void in the city’s sporting schedule, especially if the 2004 game is played here. Outside of a regularly scheduled Jaguars game, there are no other football games — college or pro — played in Jacksonville that time of year.
“Time wise, it would be perfect,” said Sullivan. “We’d have the Florida-Georgia game in late October, the Army-Navy game in early December, the Gator Bowl on Jan. 1 and the Super Bowl in early February. It would be a football heaven and the publicity and TV coverage would be unbelievable.”
Greenspan said consideration would be given to both awarding the game on a yearly and long term basis. Adopting a plan that would incorporate several cities into a rotation would certainly please every city, to an extent, and expose the game to previously untapped markets. However, it would also make scheduling an issue every year. Greenspan said cities will be able to state their preference through the bid application.
“The RFP will provide that opportunity for cities to bid on the game for a certain length of time,” said Greenspan. “We will take up 5,000 to 6,000 hotel rooms in most cities and that’s a significant chunk not just for the Army-Navy game, but for any event. It will be great to get the game out and around the country, but aren’t sure we want to reinvent the wheel every year.”