by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
The Gator Bowl Association has tabbed two local media heads to chair the recently-formed committee created to help generate immediate and long-term local interest in the Dr Pepper ACC Championship Game.
Times-Union Publisher Carl Cannon and Ch. 12/25 President and General Manager Ken Tonning will lead a group of Jacksonville area business leaders with the task of selling upwards of 40,000 tickets to the Dec. 1 game to local fans. That level of pregame sales, according to GBA President Rick Catlett, will go over well with the ACC.
“Obviously, it’s very important to the conference for their title game to be a success,” he said, adding ACC Commissioner John Swafford has indicated he didn’t think another city could have handled the game any better the first two years. “We are proud of that and we are hanging our hat on that. We have proven we can handle a Super Bowl and two ACC Championship games and we will prove it one more time.”
Cannon is a former GBA chairman and Tonning has been on the GBA executive committee for 15 years. Catlett said the fact that both oversee major media markets wasn’t a consideration when naming them chairs.
“They are leaders in the marketing efforts and both brought their creative people to the table,” said Catlett.
Catlett said the game doesn’t have to draw 75,000 fans to be considered a success, but 65,000 would send the message that Jacksonville is serious about securing the game for at least three more years. Friday, Catlett said, he will submit Jacksonville’s bid for the 2008, ‘09 and ‘10 ACC title games. He declined to go into financial specifics about the bid, but is confident it will impress the ACC.
“We feel it’s a winning bid,” said Catlett, adding he expects Charlotte, Tampa and Orlando to also submit bids.
Mike Kelly, associate commissioner for football for the ACC and president of the Jacksonville Super Bowl Host Committee, was in town Tuesday to meet with GBA officials and go over Jacksonville’s bid. Kelly indicated that Orlando likely won’t submit a bid since the renovations to its stadium won’t be complete until 2011.
Kelly said he has no influence on the ultimate decision — which will be made during the first two weeks of December after the game and after the ACC presidents meet in Jacksonville — but he is familiar with the city, the people who run the college football games and he’s seen what Jacksonville can do when asked to host a huge event.
“I know better than anyone what Jacksonville is capable of,” said Kelly. “This city came together in a big way. We consider 30,000 to 40,000 tickets sold locally to be a success. The events around the game have gone up each year and the Gator Bowl Association has managed the game well.”
Kelly and Catlett both said there’s talk of awarding the game to three cities on a rotation basis. However, Kelly also said the league would like to see one city set itself apart.
“We’d like to get to where we are not bidding the game out all the time,” said Kelly.
Catlett said the ACC game has about a $14 million direct economic impact on the area. However, using the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce’s formula of multiplying that direct impact by two-and-a-half, Catlett figures the game has more like a $35 million to $40 million impact.
“That’s not just hotels and bars and restaurants,” said Catlett. “That’s salaries of people working an extra game at the stadium and other salaries.”
The theme to this year’s game is “Experience the Passion” and the push to drive interest starts Monday night when the GBA hosts a viewing party in the Bud Zone at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium for the Florida State-Clemson game. The stadium opens at 6 p.m. for the 8 p.m. game which will be on the Jumbotrons and the 55 plasma TVs in the Bud Zone. Admission is free as is parking. Catlett said the GBA worked with stadium food vendor Levy Restaurants to sell draft beers for $1 and offer discount food during the game. Former FSU and Clemson players will be on hand and those in attendance will be able to enter drawings to both the Sept. 29 FSU-Alabama game and the ACC title game.