Swofford Says Charlotte May Become Permanent Home For ACC Title Game

ACC Commissioner John Swofford yesterday called last season's ACC football championship game a "huge success," and added the conference "probably found a home in Charlotte," according to Robbi Pickeral of the Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER. Speaking to the Raleigh Sports Club, Swofford said, "It's hard to say that after one year because we want to see a progression of successes before you call a place a home. But the fact that Charlotte is within 300 miles of eight of our schools is a real plus, because it enhances the fact that you're going to have at least one fan base that can drive in and out to the game. And Charlotte sold a little over 30,000 tickets before we knew which teams were going to be in the game. That's not quite where we want or need for it to be, but it's a great start." Pickeral notes the Virginia Tech-Florida State title game drew a sellout crowd of 72,379 at Bank of America Stadium in December. The championship game was played in Jacksonville in its first three years, then moved to Tampa for the two seasons. Attendance "declined from 72,749 in 2005 to 57,227 in 2009, before improving again during its first year in Charlotte." Swofford said that the goal for the 2011 ACC title game is to "sell more than 35,000 tickets before the matchup is set." Next season's game in Charlotte ends a two-year contract, and Swofford said, "We'll make a decision probably right after that game, as to whether it will stay there or we'll do something different" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 2/17).