by David Chapman
Staff Writer
It won’t be football on the field in February, but officials expect a lacrosse doubleheader featuring Jacksonville University and three national collegiate powerhouses will be the start of something big.
The 2011 Moe’s Southwest Grill Sunshine Classic was officially announced Tuesday and will feature JU vs. Georgetown University and, in a repeat of the 2010 national championship, Notre Dame vs. Duke University Feb. 20 at EverBank Field.
The matches will be televised on ESPN networks at noon and 3 p.m., respectively.
Michael Bouda, Jacksonville Economic Development Commission sports and entertainment director, called the announcement and upcoming sports event a huge achievement for the city because of the sport’s growing popularity and the potential to become an annual event.
Bouda said a reasonable goal is to sell 15,000 tickets.
He said marketing efforts will stretch as far south as Miami, which has a large lacrosse community, north to Atlanta and west past Tallahassee, including major markets like Orlando.
Tickets for the event are $25.50, $34.50 and $39.50.
The three-day weekend because of Washington’s Birthday will make it easier for people to travel to the event and put more “heads in beds,” a hospitality industry saying to indicate room nights and economic impact.
Notre Dame will be staying at the Hyatt Downtown while Georgetown, Duke and the media contingent will be at the Omni Downtown.
“I’ve been told by people that lacrosse fans will travel,” said Bouda.
He already considers the game a success because of the caliber of teams coming to town and resulting television exposure.
For JU, it’s a stepping stone for the men’s lacrosse program, the first such Div. I team in Florida, which began play in the spring.
“We’re very excited to be hosting this event,” said Joel Lamp, JU associate athletic director.
Lamp said that hosting such an event in the program’s relative infancy was a matter of having the right people in place with the proper timing. He said it could set the city up to host future events of greater magnitude, perhaps even NCAA lacrosse tournament matches.
“It’s big,” said Lamp, “especially for this sport and JU and the city to get more national exposure.”
Brad Chasteen, Welcome to Moe’s Inc. president and CEO, said pairing up with the lacrosse event works.
Chasteen said the demographics are similar for the sport and Moe’s products. Also, the franchise is involved in the local lacrosse community and the business was seeking opportunities to market itself further, he said.
The regional franchisee will put in more than $100,000 for event expenses, said Chasteen. He also believes the event could become annual.
“We’re extremely thrilled,” he said. “We consider lacrosse to be one of the fastest growing sports.”
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