by Patti Connor
Staff Writer
A multitude of enthusiastic soccer fans convened at stadiums and sports bars throughout the country last week to cheer on the United States in its World Cup match with Poland.
If even a tiny fraction of that number shows up Friday morning to watch the U.S.-Germany quarterfinals game on the big screen at the Landing, John Kiddy believes he will have scored a major victory.
There’s little question the mammoth, open-air screen bordering the St. Johns River offers the perfect venue for an event the magnitude of the upcoming match. Yet, until someone actually made the suggestion that airing it on the big screen might be a good way to bring people downtown, the idea hadn’t even crossed his mind, said Kiddy, the Landing’s general manager.
“Tripp Stanley, who works at CSX, e-mailed me, and he said thousands of people had gathered live to watch the match in a stadium in Ohio the other night. Locally, Tripp said 80 people went to Mudville Grille in St. Nicholas. As bringing more people into downtown Jacksonville is something we’re all interested in doing, it seemed like a good idea to go ahead and do it,” said Kiddy.
Kiddy is not really concerned about how many people will show up at 7:30 a.m. Friday.
“If we get a hundred people,” he said, “that’s fine. The main thing is, this gives us an opportunity to show off what we can do.”
The event serves another purpose as well, according to Kiddy. Along with spotlighting the capabilities of the big screen, it will also allow those attending to experience firsthand The Landing’s potential as a gathering place for the community.
“We make [the big screen] available to most businesses. In the past, we’ve offered it to the Chamber as well as to the mayor’s office, to get the word out on the Better Jacksonville Plan. We want to make other businesses aware that it’s available to them,” he said.
The game will air at 7:25 a.m. Attendance is free and open to the public. During the game, breakfast will be available at Starbucks, Jambalaya’s and Legends Sports Bar.