by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
The first few days this week are the calm before the storm for the Jacksonville Landing. Wednesday, Florida and Georgia fans will roll into town, set up near the stadium and fans will head to the Landing for cold drinks and something to eat. Thursday, students and other fans will come in and by Friday, Downtown will be a sea of orange and blue and red and black.
Landing Director of Public Relations Rachel Kaltenbach said the riverfront mall is more than ready for the 100,000 fans that will be in town. While there are several vacant retail spaces at the Landing, Kaltenbach said every space is being used for, either profit or storage.
“Copper Cellar has been booked for a private party and the Ruby Tuesday’s space has been leased by Jax Beach Seafood,” said Kaltenbach. “We will use the Fuddrucker’s space for storage and the old Improv Jacksonville space is going to be used by the AngelAID volunteers. And, Discount Pro Wear is using the space across from Body Shop as a souvenir shop.”
Kaltenbach also said the Landing will have a student safety zone and space has been set aside for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
“They will be able to process underage drinkers, hold them and process their licenses,” she said.
Staff-wise, Kaltenbach said the Landing will just about quadruple its workforce from a typical weekend. About 15-20 employees from Sleiman Enterprises — the Landing is owned by Toney Sleiman — will work the weekend along with dozens of extra security guards.
For the third year in a row, the Landing is charging $10 to get in once the entry gates have been set up Friday. A portion of that will go to AngelAID — a local non-profit that helps terminally-ill children — but the entry fee is also a deterrent.
“It does discourage some of the riffraff. We haven’t had that problem in three years,” said Kaltenbach. “Later in the evenings, some people would come in and want to just cause trouble. They were not there to spend money and they would look for half-drank beers and food lying around the courtyard.”
Landing merchants are looking forward to the expected crowds. The manager at the Body Shop said the store is “very busy” and will bring in extra staff for three days.
The folks at Bourbon Bayou will experience their first Florida-Georgia game and are ready. According to manager Frank Turner, the expansion project will be done by Thursday and will bring the restaurant’s capacity to about 200. Turner said live music courtesy of the Galaxy Band on Friday and Saturday nights has helped the restaurant succeed to the point the expansion was necessary. He said the crowds for last month’s Florida State-Alabama game were a good preview of what’s coming this weekend.
“It’s going to be a crazy, crazy weekend,” said Turner, adding he expects to work about 60 hours over four days. “Thursday we will set up. Friday and Saturday bust it and Sunday we’ll clean up.”
The game will air live in the courtyard on the Landing’s big screen TV.
The following is the schedule of entertainment at the Landing for the weekend:
Thursday
• Str8up: 5-9 p.m. in the couryard
• A1A North: 9:30-2 a.m. in the courtyard
Friday
• Jay Garrett Band and Lisa and the Mad Hatters: 5 p.m.-2 a.m. on the Cazadores Entertainment Stage at the corner of Hogan Street and Independent Drive.
• Dance music: Noon-2 a.m. in the courtyard
Saturday
• George Aspinal, Go Ask Alice and Blistur on the Cazadores Entertainment Stage: 11 a.m.-2 a.m.
• Dance music: 11 a.m.-2 a.m. in the courtyard