What may prove to be a $50 million impact for the city is coming as Jacksonville has been awarded the Atlantic Coast Conference’s championship football game starting in 2005.
The City’s bid was handled by the Gator Bowl Association, which has scheduled a press conference today at Alltel Stadium to reveal the details.
The game is expected to fill Alltel Stadium. While the GBA bid guaranteed sale of all seats, it’s probable that the ACC schools and sponsors will turn this event into one similar to the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta, which regularly sells out.
The Jacksonville bid reportedly totaled $7.7 million and GBA President Rick Catlett said studies show that the impact will be about $50 million. The local bid unanimously was accepted by the ACC’s athletic directors late Wednesday.
The game will be played in early December and will not replaced the Gator Bowl game on New Year’s day. The length of the ACC-Jacksonville contract is unknown.
The conference, once a North Carolina-dominated league, has strengthened itself in recent years by adding major football powers such as Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech. The addition of Boston College stretched the league into the Northeast and it now has 12 members. The ACC will be split into two six-team divisions with the winners in each meeting here for the title and a chance to play for the national championship against other conference winners.
The Gator Bowl Association is already tied to the ACC through its game contract. Each year, the GBA game matches an ACC team against one from the Big East, and the area has proven a popular site for offseason meetings as well.
Jacksonville’s bid includes funding for the purchase of all unsold seats as well as receptions to be held in the stadium’s amenities areas.
The local bid was chosen over six other potential sites. Charlotte, in the heart of ACC country, reportedly made the second-strongest bid. Bids from Tampa and Orlando failed to make the first cut.