by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Not too many years ago, about the only way people who had purchased a ticket to a sports event in Jacksonville might watch a basketball game was if it took place during halftime at a football game.
That has changed and continues to change, said Mike Bouda, director of sports and entertainment for the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission.
Bouda is currently preparing for the Dec. 20 University of Florida vs. University of Central Florida neutral-site hoops tilt at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. It’s the second time the teams will meet in Jacksonville and the game is part of the city’s sports history.
“The first time they played here was the first time a basketball game was played in the new arena,” said Bouda.
He also said the variety of sports the Jacksonville audience will embrace has grown recently, partly due to changes in local demographics and partly due to the effort put into planning by the City for events at City venues. For instance, the UF vs. UCF game will tip off at 6:30 p.m. in order to avoid interfering with holiday shopping patterns predictable for the last Saturday before Christmas.
“Football is still the king, but Jacksonville has grown so much that the sports palette has also grown. Over the past several years, we have proven that basketball, baseball and even rugby can work in Jacksonville,” said Bouda. “In this day and age, it’s not the quantity of events you have, it’s the quality of the events.”
Negotiations are currently underway to bring USA Soccer matches to town, Bouda said, based on the influx of residents who grew up in Europe and now call Jacksonville home.
“For those folks, soccer is football,” he added.
The early rounds of the 2006 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament were played in the Arena and the event was successful to the point the tournament will be back in 2010.
Visit Jacksonville’s Lyndsay Rossman said the tournament resulted in more than 2,500 room nights and a total estimated economic impact of $2.6 million. On average, sporting events bring more than $120 million a year into the local economy, according to Visit Jacksonville’s research.
There’s another benefit that’s gained, added Rossman.
“It’s media exposure that we couldn’t possibly purchase,” she said. “Football games, The Players Championship, NCAA Basketball, ACC Baseball, USA Gymnastics – all that regional and national television exposure trickles down to future economic impact.
“Visit Jacksonville bought three TV spots in last year’s Gator Bowl game and requests to our office and our Web site for visitor’s guides more than tripled the first week of January.”
Rossman also pointed out that economic data reflects tourist dollars spent at local hotels and doesn’t take into account people who come to Jacksonville for a sports event and either don’t spend the night or those who stay with friends or relatives.
Bouda said the Dec. 20 basketball game will be televised to 42 million viewers on cable television and both universities regard it as a “home” game. Thousands of each school’s students are from Jacksonville and will be home for the holidays. In addition, a block of tickets is for sale at each school that includes a seat behind each team’s basket and a school-color t-shirt.
“The Gators are in the top-25 this week and could still be when they play the game and UF vs. UCF is a great instate rivalry. It’s going to be fun,” said Bouda.
Tickets are available at the arena box office and all TicketMaster outlets including www.ticketmaster.com.
356-2466