The Gator Bowl Association opened its football season Tuesday night with a record — there now are 190 committee members, almost double the amount just three years ago.
“That tells the story of what this association means to the city,” said chair-elect Mike Hartley of Hartley Press, who heads the association’s marketing committee. “And, the fact that over over 100 came tonight despite the weather tells a lot.”
Committee members pay $500 a year and agree to sell or buy game tickets or arrange sponsorships.
The Omni meeting also was the first ticket sales report and President Rick Catlett said that about 14,000 of the 25,000 committed locally have been sold.
Catlett also reviewed the Association’s new game — the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, which starts next year — and recalled the words of a former boss.
“When I worked for (Mayor Jake) Godbold, he always said ‘To sell Jacksonville, we have to have a sales kit.’ Now, with the ACC and the Gator Bowl games, we have a sales kit.”
The committee members are divided into 12 sales teams. The next meeting, and the first fall sales report, will be Oct. 12 at the Hilton.