The events side of the rebranded and expanded Gator Bowl Sports now has a name: the Jacksonville Sports Council.
And its mission of attracting sports events of all levels to Jacksonville will be aided through a public-private partnership with the JAX Chamber and city. The council will be led by Alan Verlander, Gator Bowl Sports chief operating officer, and be privately funded.
Mayor Alvin Brown made the announcement at a joint news conference Thursday, calling the partnership a “strategic and nimble” way to attract sports and
economic development to the area.
“Jacksonville is a big sports town, it’s one of our strengths as a city,” said Brown, later adding: “It is important to put everyone on the same page … making sure we are all moving in the same direction as the city.”
The council will be branded as JAX Sports.
Verlander said funding and influence from the chamber, in addition to individuals, will ensure the effort is privately funded. Being private also will mean the ability to act quicker and have larger expense accounts that aren’t often available to the public side, he said.
But, when event officials are choosing a location, Verlander said they want to make sure the public side — such as police and fire support and City Council approval — also are in place.
“We want Jacksonville to be more than football,” he said. “We want to make sure it’s a sports capital.”
It was announced in December that Verlander was leaving the city as Brown’s sports and entertainment director, a role he filled since April 2012, to take on the leadership role with Gator Bowl Sports. He began Jan. 1.
A month before it was announced Verlander would be joining, the former Gator Bowl Association was rebranded as Gator Bowl Sports. The change added two nonprofits, the first to handle events — the council named Thursday — and one for charities.
In addition, it decided to branch out from being just college athletics. Organization presents the annual Gator Bowl game and, with its future secured for the next six years, decided to
expand.
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