As the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl transitions into the new College Football Playoff, it will undergo changes that "stem from the bowl’s deal with the playoff and, in turn, the playoff’s deal with ESPN," according to Tim Tucker of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. The bowl "no longer will select its teams," nor will it "receive revenue from TV and naming-rights deals." The bowl will also "have to relocate some fans from their customary seats," and ticket prices "will rise sharply." Bowl President & CEO Gary Stokan said, "It's a whole new business model." Tucker reported the changes are "dramatic" in at least three areas: team selection, TV and title sponsorship, and tickets. The new business model "calls for the six bowls in the playoff rotation to get their revenue primarily from ticket sales." Stokan: "It’s incumbent upon us in the new model to sell the bowl out. The only revenue streams we have now to meet the expenses of overhead, salaries and putting on the game are tickets and some local sponsorships in categories that ESPN doesn’t have. … That’s why corporate Atlanta and the fans of Atlanta are so important to keeping this game successful." He said that the bowl after covering expenses will "retain a management fee" and then 15% of its profits, with the other 85% "going to the playoff group." He added that the game can "sell local sponsorships in product categories outside the 15 controlled and sold by ESPN" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 4/26).
