by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
If the Super Bowl Host Committee was the student — and putting on the game for the first time is certainly a learning experience — and the National Football League was the professor, Host Committee boss Mike Kelly is sure his team would get an “A” at this point in the process.
A couple of weeks ago, Kelly went to New York to meet with NFL executives about the 2005 game and where Jacksonville and the entire First Coast stand in regard to preparations. Kelly, who ran the Super Bowl for Tampa last year, insists the meeting was not in response to recent issues the Host Committee has had concerning hotel commitments.
“It was just a regular progress report,” said the Host Committee President and COO. “When I was with the Tampa Host Committee, I went about twice a year. It was about time to go over some things and get their input and make a decision on the cruise ships.”
Accordingly to Kelly, the Host Committee has assurances from 12 cruise ships which will serve as floating hotel rooms and make up for the approximate 6,000 shortfall of hotel rooms in the area. Per NFL requirements, Jacksonville will have to provide 17,500 rooms for NFL use. Kelly said indications are the Host Committee may not need all 12 ships — which will be docked from downtown to Talleyrand —but needs to determine the exact number soon.
“It’s getting close to time to sign the contracts,” said Kelly. “We don’t want too many ships or too few. We have drafts out now and should get them back soon. At the latest, we need to be done in the next 60 days, 90 days at best.”
Kelly said determining the exact number is important to everyone involved. The NFL needs to know in order to be able to assign corporations and groups to ships. The Host Committee needs to know so they can begin contract talks. And, the cruise lines need to know in order for them to commit ships to Jacksonville the first week of February 2005 or book the ships for regular cruises.
Regardless how many, the cruise ship commitment is at the top of the priority list for Kelly and the Host Committee mainly because the NFL is anxious to see how the concept will work.
“They [the NFL] still think this is a unique opportunity,” said Kelly, adding his two-hour meeting with the NFL’s Jim Steeg went well. “For them, it’s a new city and it’s good to get an update. The cruise ship concept is so new and unusual for them. They need to know what’s going on so they can sell their customers on the concept.”
Early last month, the local hotels and the Host Committee dominated headlines and local TV news. Steeg publicly stated the lack of commitments from local hotels concerned the NFL to the point of mentioning Jacksonville was in jeopardy of losing the game. The Host Committee, the Jacksonville & the Beaches Convention and Visitors Bureau and the local hotel association quickly rallied. Those efforts, according to Kelly, are paying off.
“That continues to go really well. We are on the time line we expected,” said Kelly. “The last time I checked, we had 11,000 room commitments. That’s as many as I had in greater Tampa before I had to go to Orlando (to get more rooms.)”
One current issue that Kelly is paying close attention to is the number of people getting sick on cruise ships and the possible ramifications that may have on the entire industry, especially since no one has identified the source of the illnesses.
“That hasn’t come up, but it’s certainly not good timing,” said Kelly, acknowledging that from time to time cruise ships suffer outbreaks, but rarely of the current magnitude. “It’s certainly raised our eyes to the situation.”
Kelly also said the game presents new challenges to the NFL. Several cities — Miami, Tampa and New Orleans — have hosted multiple Super Bowls and understand the concept and preparation time needed. Being a novice, Jacksonville will remain the big unknown until the days leading up to gametime on Feb. 6, 2005.
“There’s no trepidation by the league to the threat of leaving,” said Kelly who will probably revisit NFL offices early this summer. “The fact is this is the smallest market to ever host the game and it’s the first time. That combination creates a big challenge. There’s no manual to pull out like there is in Tampa or Miami. There has to be a different plan for Houston [the site of the 2004 Super Bowl], Detroit [the 2006 game] and Jacksonville.”