FSU Hoping To Enhance Profile In Florida With Neutral-Site Games

Florida State Returning To Jacksonville Municipal Stadium This Weekend For Neutral Site Game

Florida State Univ. (FSU) officials hope that Saturday's football game against the Univ. of Colorado at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium "will help to expand the Seminoles presence in [the] state," according to Andrew Carter of the ORLANDO SENTINEL. FSU AD Randy Spetman said that "part of the reasoning behind taking home dates on the road ... is to bring FSU games to fans and alumni bases that otherwise might have difficulty in traveling to Tallahassee, which is far removed from most of [Florida's] metropolitan areas." FSU "will receive the revenues generated from ticket sales, concession stands and parking fees." The game marks the second time FSU has played in Jacksonville in as many seasons and "represents a continued and growing trend." Throughout FSU football coach Bobby Bowden's tenure, his teams "have routinely played neutral site games." Carter notes "in the coming years, though, FSU leaders hope to play more than ever before -- including one in Orlando." Bowden said FSU President T.K. Wetherell "would like to play games throughout the state of Florida. I'm sure he would like to play in Orlando and Tampa as well." But Gator Bowl President Rick Catlett said that ticket sales for the Colorado game "are lacking" and added that "40,000 tickets have been sold in a stadium that seats 77,000." Catlett is "hoping that strong walk-up sales push attendance into the 50,000 to 55,000 range" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 9/25). Last season's Alabama-FSU game drew "more than 85,000 people," and the crowd was "the largest in the history of Jacksonville Municipal Stadium" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 9/24).