A renovated Citrus Bowl stadium was opened last month, with nearly $207.7M renovations done to the venue. Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan recently sat down for an interview with the ORLANDO BUSINESS JOURNAL's Richard Bilbao to discuss the stadium future. Below are excerpts from the Q&A.
Q: How do you feel right now as this renovation is nearly complete?
Hogan: Pre-game jitters. We were fearful of losing a lot of business we enjoyed for a long time. Seven decades of bowl games and the Florida Classic playing here since 1997 -- that's a lot of business to have walk away.
Q: What is the risk with [neutral site] games?
Hogan: On New Year's Day, there's a massive amount of TV dollars that will support the cost of that bowl game. For the (neutral-site season) kick-off game, you have the same type of pay-off, but zero TV dollars helping pay for it. ... But the reason we took that risk is because we are hoping the new assets in the stadium -- naming rights, more sponsor components and premium seating -- will generate enough revenue we can use to balance the ledger, whereas just the game itself would lose money.
Q: How do you convince a company like ESPN to go in on [the Florida State-Ole Miss game to start '16]?
Hogan: We have had a long relationship with ESPN with both of our bowl games, the Classic and other ESPN products. ... I think it was a mixture of a long-term relationship and that they believed in what we have going on here and they wanted to be a part of it.
Q: What's your strategy to attract the NFL here?
Hogan: I'm hoping some in-state teams will have an interest in Orlando. We're one of the largest markets that doesn't have an NFL team, and I think all three teams in the state want to have a piece of the fan base here. So, I want to compel those institutions to see that now they have a facility they can use to put their team in front of the Orlando fan base.
Q: Is hosting a college football national championship game still in the works?
Hogan: I would like to see one, but Florida Citrus Sports can't do it alone. We need the community to see that it is an $18 million Super Bowl-like effort and see how the conventions and hotels can be prepared to accommodate it (ORLANDO BUSINESS JOURNAL, 11/28 issue).
