by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
As it turns out, entrance to this year’s World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party won’t require a lottery ticket.
The City considered changing its policy this year governing admission to RV City, the recreational vehicle-packed parking lots that surround Alltel Stadium. Every year, the Florida-Georgia football game draws hundreds of the vehicles to Jacksonville.
For years, settling in RV City was a first-come, first-served proposition. But the City announced last August that a lottery would determine who gets into the City lots.
But after floating the idea with representatives from the schools and past customers, the City has decided to scrap the lottery. Admission will stay first-come, first-served, said Michael Sullivan, director of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission’s Sports and Entertainment Division.
“We talked to a bunch of people from the universities and to past campers and we decided to leave it as it is,” said Sullivan. “As long as people cooperate by not showing up early, we’ll keep it as it is.”
The large numbers of early arrivals prompted the City to consider the lottery. People were showing up as much as a week early to snag one of the about 160 spaces.
The City feared the problem could get worse after the Florida Department of Health started cracking down on long-term parking regulations.
The State told the City to expect enforcement of requirements for showers and bathrooms to be provided at the lots. Basically, the state now treats the lots like campgrounds.
The City feared that the increased scrutiny would put some of the private lots out of business, creating more demand for the City spaces.
To prevent early arrivals, the City won’t open RV City until the Wednesday before game day. In past years the City opened the lots on Monday.
That means the City will forgo about $15,000 in revenue that the lots would have generated on Monday and Tuesday.
Sullivan said delaying the opening will save the City money it would have spent on those days to satisfy the state regulations. Also, the City is spared the administrative expense of running the lottery.
But Sullivan warned the campers not to abuse the system by showing up early. A glut of early arrivals could force the City to reconsider instituting a lottery system, he said.