By Fred Seely
Editorial Director
Friday isn’t just October 29 — it’s a milepost.
100 days to the Super Bowl.
“It’s another point in time to remind us that the game is coming,” said Reid Sigmon, the vice president/operations for the Super Bowl Host Committee. “It’s a round number on the countdown.”
Plans for the February 6, 2005 game continue and a team of 10 or so from the National Football League will be here later this week to observe Saturday’s Georgia-Florida game and the hoopla surrounding it.
“They want to see how a multi-day event is handled,” said Sigmon. “The Jaguars are a one day deal; Georgia-Florida has people around the stadium for several days.”
It won’t be only the stadium.
“The Adam’s Mark is the NFL headquarters hotel so they want to observe that operation. The Landing will be the a popular place — how will that fit in with the downtown entertainment?”
City planners said the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” serves as an effective warmup for the city’s largest game. Mike Sullivan, director of the Jacksonville Economic Development Authority’s Sports and Entertainment Division, said the college game prepares the City for the goings on inside and outside the stadium.
“The Alltel stands will be every bit as packed this Saturday as they will February 6. ,” Sullivan said. “
Florida-Georgia has one other notable similarity to the Super Bowl: the number of fans without tickets who come to Jacksonville just to immerse themselves in the festivities surrounding the game.
“We’ll get about 10 to 15,000 people this week that will come without tickets. Basically they’re just here to party. They’ll eat in local restaurants, drink in bars and stay in hotels.
While the games have obvious similarities, there are differences. Parking, for one.
“Georgia-Florida uses all the lots for parking,” said Sigmon. “For the Super Bowl, the lot on the West side will be within the ‘perimeter’ and will be a hospitality area.
“Parking is a different issue, too. People drive to the Georgia-Florida game. A Super Bowl is a bus and limo crowd.”
It’s also a rental car crowd and that can be a problem, according to Sgt. Jim Suber of the Special Events Office at the sheriff’s office.
“If a person with a rental car can’t find a parking place, sometimes they’ll just park it anywhere and let the rental car company worry about it,” he said. “It’s a problem.”
The NFL teams will be here to observe stadium operations, too. The temporary seating in Alltel Stadium will have a slightly different configuration.
“There will be more people at Georgia-Florida than at the Super Bowl due to the extra television camera positions,” said Sigmon.