by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
A subcommittee of the Tourist Development Council met Thursday for the first time with one goal in mind: lay the groundwork for what the group hopes become “megaweekends” in Jacksonville and the surrounding area.
Led by TDC member Fred Pozin — who is also general manager of the Ramada Inn Conference Center in Mandarin — the subcommittee is looking to capitalize on the area’s major events by incorporating smaller, peripheral events. By doing so, Pozin figures the entire Northeast Florida area can get either directly or indirectly involved in such events as the Florida-Georgia game, World of Nations and the Sea & Sky Spectacular, just to name a few.
“I want to see how we can create signature events for the city,” said Pozin, who’s joined on the committee by fellow TDC members Jim Ewing and Henry Fonde. “That’s not to say we don’t have great events already, because we do. I want to take the good events and make then great and I want to take the smaller opportunities and wrap them into bigger events.
“I want to create signature weekends for the city.”
Pozin cited last year’s Players Championship as an example of coupling a large, multi-day event like the golf tournament with either a second or new event to create something that spans geographical and societal lines. The 2007 Players Championship was played in May for the first time and the City’s Office of Special Events worked with Landing owner Tony Sleiman to create the Players Downtown Experience. The Friday night event, which included everything from live music to virtual golf to transportation to the tournament from Downtown, proved to be a success.
Several City officials attended the meeting including Theresa Price, director of the Special Events office, Mike Bouda of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission’s Sports Board and Paul Crawford, deputy executive director of the JEDC. Visit Jacksonville President John Reyes and his staff also attended as did Gator Bowl Association President Rick Catlett. All help run or promote major Jacksonville events and all brought their perspective on the “megaweekend” concept.
“Obviously, the more there is to do, the better,” said Catlett, who runs the Konica/Minolta Gator Bowl. Catlett said first impressions are important and all of Jacksonville’s major events draw a combination of locals, regulars from out of town and those attending an event here for the first time. “Any time you bring thousands of people to the city, the first impression is critical to if they come back. Tourism is a driver.”
Catlett was instrumental in arranging last season’s Florida State-Alabama game. The sold out game put over 80,000 in the stands of Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. While many of those fans were from out of town, a vast majority were in Jacksonville solely for the game. Catlett said the Landing held its parties, but nothing else was purposely scheduled. When Florida State and Colorado play here in September, peripheral events may add to an already busy weekend, but Catlett said it may be tough to convince some people to join.
“A lot of groups are scared to death to have their event when something else is going on,” said Catlett. “They should see it as an opportunity for John Reyes to promote their event.”
Reyes said Visit Jacksonville has done a lot of research and that research indicates, for example, that people in Atlanta view Jacksonville as a special events town.
“Seventy-five percent of the five million (annual) visitors to Jacksonville are here for leisure,” said Reyes. “It’s important to make a great first impression, then they will come back. If you already have that great reputation, then it’s time to turn the volume up.”
Bouda said he supports the idea of meshing larger and smaller events regardless where in town they occur. However, he believes the fans that come for the Florida-Georgia game have an agenda before they get to town. While they may deviate some, most, Bouda said, know exactly what they are going to and when.
“Florida-Georgia is a unique animal,” said Bouda, adding he has a Feb. 11 meeting in Gainesville with officials from Florida to discuss possible changes.
Bouda said the game usually draws about 20,000 people to the Sports Complex who don’t have tickets to the game and have little intention of looking for them. Most, he said, enjoy the atmosphere and the FanFest that Price and her staff set up just east of the stadium. Bouda said a Friday night concert is a possibility, but there are things to consider.
“That, as you know, is expensive,” said Bouda. “You may have to get away from the free aspect. I’m not saying to ask people to pony up $80 for a concert at the Arena, but maybe have something at Metro Park and charge $30.”
Pozin, who said he was asked by City Council President Daniel Davis to create the subcommittee, said the group’s goal is to convince area groups that having multiple events over the course of the same weekend will ultimately benefit everyone.
“The mission is to go to folks who promote the smaller events and say ‘It’s OK to have it the same weekend.’ Let’s look at who’s coming to the events and see what event we can marry them with,” said Pozin.
“The key is critical mass,” said Reyes. “When we visit other places, we want to meet with the locals to see what events they are attending.”
Eventually, said Pozin, he’d like to create a couple of weekends a year that could mirror the atmosphere and magnitude of events that surrounded the Super Bowl in 2005.
“I envision a couple of significant weekends comparable to Super Bowl and let’s go from there,” he said.