Nearly 4,000 hotel rooms short of the NFL's minimum requirement and lacking a major downtown entertainment district, Jacksonville seemed the dark horse three years ago when the city bid to play host to a Super Bowl.
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| Cruise ships will dock along the St. Johns River, providing more than 3,600 extra hotel rooms. |
Then came a Hail Mary that floated Jacksonville's bid to the top, turning its most daunting disadvantage into a "huge positive," said Wayne Weaver, majority owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It was Weaver, a self-assured business leader popular among the NFL's team owners, who buoyed Jacksonville's bid, suggesting the use of cruise ships docked along the St. Johns River as floating hotels, a strategy that proved successful at the British Open and the Olympics in Barcelona and Sydney.
From there, the Jacksonville Super Bowl Host Committee crafted a plan that answered the critics — and the NFL's concerns about whether one of its smallest market could successfully play host to the league's biggest event in 2005.
"We are going to do it well," Weaver said. "And we are going to bid for future Super Bowls."
Jacksonville's Super Bowl Host Committee will pay Holland America Line, Carnival Cruise Lines and Radisson Seven Seas Cruises $11.7 million to berth five ships along the St. Johns River for four days. Officials expect more than 7,000 guests to stay in the ships' 3,617 rooms.
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| Petway |
"Jacksonville, as a venue, rates superior in every category except quality hotel rooms," said host committee co-chairman and CEO Tom Petway, calling Jacksonville's hotel inventory its "Achilles' heel. They [the NFL] need 17,500 hotel rooms and we just don't have that in our marketing area."
Despite the cruise lines tossing Jacksonville a life raft, the city hit another hotel snag last year when too few hoteliers had agreed to set aside rooms for Super Bowl visitors. As of early November, that left the host committee still short about 7,300 land-based hotel rooms, with a Dec. 31 deadline looming.
Some hoteliers opposed NFL contract stipulations that forbid charging room rates more than 10 percent above the standard rate and include penalties for selling room blocks promised to the NFL. Small hotel owners were a bit intimidated by the NFL's 17-page contract. And many of them failed to realize the urgency of signing contracts several years in advance, insiders said.
The Jacksonville Hotel & Motel Association organized informational meetings between its members and the host committee, and officials with the host committee also met one-on-one with hoteliers who requested extra coaching. That focus helped settle hoteliers' nerves and Jacksonville met its deadline.
Another challenge in Jacksonville's bid was its lack of a major entertainment district within close proximity of Alltel Stadium. Since Jacksonville won its Super Bowl bid three years ago, economic developers for the downtown area, near Alltel Stadium, have worked to shed its 5 o'clock ghost town status, adding the first upscale residential properties to open there in decades in hopes that restaurants, night clubs and other entertainment venues will follow.
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| Kelly |
But permanent venues take time. So host committee officials boosted Jacksonville's bid with an unusually large array of temporary entertainment venues. Every Super Bowl market sets up corporate tents and other temporary haunts, but Jacksonville kicked it up a notch in a way that "takes a disadvantage to us and makes it a unique advantage," said Michael Kelly, president of the host committee.
Jacksonville's primary Super Bowl party zone will be concentrated in a four-mile area, as opposed to other markets, where fans must traipse much longer distances (up to 20 miles in Miami) to experience a variety of diversions.
Undeveloped areas surrounding Alltel Stadium provide space aplenty for Super Bowl stopgaps. A 25-acre site where the city recently demolished an aging power plant will accommodate the NFL Experience. Developers of The Shipyards, a multi-use development planned near the stadium, committed space for a waterfront transportation hub. Jacksonville will borrow a 400-passenger ferry from nearby Mayport and run at least six water taxis, said Capt. Steve Nichols, marina and waterways coordinator.
The host committee has raised $6 million toward a goal of $10 million to be used toward Super Bowl expenses. That money comes from local sponsors, with Jacksonville-based Winn-Dixie supermarkets being the largest contributor so far. The city has committed $850,000 cash to the project, and $1.9 million worth of in-kind services.
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| Rummell |
"We've got 125,000 new friends we're going to have to entertain for four or five days," said host committee Co-chairman Peter Rummell. "So our ability to concentrate temporary entertainment and things to do on a limited area on the St. Johns River is a crucial part of making people feel welcome."
The cruise ships also will open to the public 16 restaurants, 11 entertainment venues, 12 night clubs, five spas and 29 bars.
The St. Johns River's starring role in Super Bowl XXXIX festivities, which will include a lighted boat parade, does bring a security concern, particularly post-9/11. The U.S. Coast Guard will patrol the waters with a heavier-than-usual presence and prohibit docked vessels from leaving the area until after the Super Bowl.
Jacksonville's main competition in the bid process was Miami.
"They've had six or seven of them," said Mike Weinstein, member of the host committee's board of directors. "So we were up against experience and predictability."
And Mother Nature. Although known for its year-round mild weather, Jacksonville does experience nose-numbing temperatures in January. When Miami officials passed out beach towels and swimming gear at the bid sessions, Jacksonville sent almanac listings of average temperatures going back years to show their temperatures aren't all that bad, either.
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| Businesses are chipping in to help Jacksonville boost its party zone around Alltel Stadium. |
"We reminded them that we are in Florida," Weinstein said, noting Super Bowl XXXIX's February date gave Jacksonville a boost. "The further away from New Year's Day, the less likely a really bad winter spell."
In January the city averages a low temperature of 44 degrees and a high of 68 degrees. In February the average climbs slightly to a low of 46 and a high of 69.
Among Jacksonville's top and still-improving draws is Alltel Stadium, currently undergoing a $47 million renovation, including the addition of the 700-seat Terrace Suite with upscale Levy Restaurants dining and the Bud Zone sports bar, as well as escalators and other access improvements. Overall, the stadium can seat more than 80,000 people.
With all the major concerns covered, Jacksonville officials are convinced the sprint to the finish will be easy and the city's next Super Bowl bid win all the more likely.
"If they love us when they leave us," Kelly said, "they'll come back."
Devan Stuart writes for The Business Journal of Jacksonville.
