Perhaps we can rename this bowl the TaxPayer Bowl.
Even though there are over 10,000 seats remaining to be sold for this game, t
he city is required to add ~ 2,000 additional seats at a cost of $415,000 to satisfy the bowl requirements. Jacksonville is scheduled to breakeven on this game when you factor in additional business the hotels and vendors will receive from tourism.
Right now, I can go on Stubhub and get an upper deck 50-yard line seat for $25 and trust me, prices are going to drop.
http://jacksonville.com/opinion/2016-12-...e-vilified
"... Duval County Property Appraiser Jerry Holland, who made a similar comment to the original story about wasteful spending practices involving sports ventures like the one the city is involved in having to shell out $415,000 for extra seats for this bowl game."
You mean Georgia Tech and Kentucky aren't gonna sell that game out?
It is such a stupid policy that the city bought into. While the city is dumb for signing it, I would like to know who on the other end pushed them for it. It's just a waste and it is something that needs to go away next year.
Why did the city sign this stupid deal if they don't want it?
The easiest way to sell out a game is make tickets cheap.
Yeah, but if you make the tickets cheaper you are doing it for every single ticket. There is a fine line on ticket prices between supply and demand. You really don't care about a sell out if you can maximize the price. I would rather sell 10,000 tickets at $100 than 50,000 at $10.
They know they have some built in sales with the schools coming to town as well as the local product that can come. Not only that, but they sell at a much much cheaper price to fundraisers to local schools and charities.
Quote:Yeah, but if you make the tickets cheaper you are doing it for every single ticket. There is a fine line on ticket prices between supply and demand. You really don't care about a sell out if you can maximize the price. I would rather sell 10,000 tickets at $100 than 50,000 at $10.
They know they have some built in sales with the schools coming to town as well as the local product that can come. Not only that, but they sell at a much much cheaper price to fundraisers to local schools and charities.
So charities are involved in ticket sales?
Yep, in the Jacksonville area at least. I know of some high schools that have ticket offers to its teachers and families, and to anyone they are willing to give the offer to. They aren't great seats, but they are cheap and you get in the game. All be it an awful game this year.
Quote:Yeah, but if you make the tickets cheaper you are doing it for every single ticket. There is a fine line on ticket prices between supply and demand. You really don't care about a sell out if you can maximize the price. I would rather sell 10,000 tickets at $100 than 50,000 at $10.
They know they have some built in sales with the schools coming to town as well as the local product that can come. Not only that, but they sell at a much much cheaper price to fundraisers to local schools and charities.
Depends. What does the average person spend on concessions?
Well the city is factoring in hotel, restaurants while they are here, drinks, etc....and they are still saying they are only going to break even. If they make the game cheaper they decrease their overall tax revenue as well. Instead of breaking even they would be at a loss instead.
Imagine not installing those seats, putting people in the stands that are currently there, and realizing a $415,000 gain instead. A lot of people are employed by the city to put these types of game on, police hired, etc...it's just ridiculous to put in seats for a game that isn't sold out. I get it for FL/GA and other popular games, but this game rarely solds out, it was a bad idea.
The garbage irrelevant bowl games are waste of time and money. Only the playoff games matter.
Someone is making money off these games. If they weren't, they wouldn't have them.
Rick Catlett has ruined this game. Gator Bowl used to be one of the better bowls. Would routinely host two teams in the top 25 with a good chance of getting a top 10 team. But it's been 16 years since they've had a top 10 team, over 10 years now since this game has had two top 25 teams, and this will be the 3rd year in row without either team being ranked! This bowl game has completely tanked.
A few years after taking control, Catlett aligned the conference with the Big East and the ACC. And if you remember back in the mid90s neither conference was all that good. Gator Bowl was essentially praying for a FSU/Clemson vs Miami/Va Tech matchup. Instead we got a lot of UNC, GaTech, Syracuse, West Virginia, etc... He went crawling back to the SEC desperate for better matchups but the bowl alignment had passed him by and he was reduced to getting the 4th or 5th best SEC team.. and sometimes worse.
And now the SEC has shifted their alignment again and the Gator Bowl is on par with the Belk Bowl, Liberty Bowl, Houston Bowl, etc... when it comes to choosing teams. May get anywhere from the 4th best to 9th best SEC team. Look at the game this year.... we are stuck with an 8-4 GaTech team vs a 7-5 Kentucky team. What a terrible matchup for a bowl that used to routinely have two top 25 teams and was essentially one level down from the big 4 Rose Sugar Orange Fiesta. The Gator has been surpassed by the Peach Bowl. It's been surpassed by the Cotton Bowl. Even the Outback Bowl has been getting much better matchups lately. In the last 6 years, 11 of the 12 teams in the Outback Bowl have been ranked.
Gator Bowl has turned into a joke and I'm blaming leadership 100%.