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Local ticket sales biggest challenge for I-AA game
By Brad Shepard Staff Writer
Increased local interest helped Chattanooga get a contract extension to continue to host the Division I-AA football national championship game.
That momentum will need to carry into the next two years as well.
Though the financial specifics of the agreement between Chattanooga and the NCAA are virtually unchanged, there is at least one major difference.
At least 10,500 tickets must be sold locally for the 2006 championship game, and that number rises to 11,000 in 2007, according to the contract. Greater Chattanooga Sports and Events Committee president Merrill Eckstein said the most tickets sold locally was "around 9,200" last year.
"I think we’ll be up again this year," Eckstein said. "I don’t know if we’ll reach 10,000, but we’ll be close.
"The biggest challenge for us (with the new contract) will be reaching the local ticket sales level." Failure to meet the contract’s local ticket requirements will result in the sports committee having to pay a penalty to the NCAA.
"I look at those numbers as goals rather than conditions," said Dennis Poppe, NCAA executive director for football and baseball. "I want to see this game continue to grow."
Though the new agreement guarantees the game staying through 2007, there is an option for a third year. Eckstein said there will be a "window of negotiation" throughout January 2008 when no other city can bid on the game. Eckstein’s early plan is to send another proposal to the NCAA before the ’07 game so negotiations can begin.
Now local and NCAA officials are pleased to have the new contract out of the way so they can focus on next week’s championship festivities and the Dec. 16 game.
"I think we’ve had issues in the past to take away from the two teams," Poppe said. "We look forward to starting the new relationship next week, and, most importantly, making sure the concentration is on the two teams."
Local officials for several weeks have been positive about getting a contract extension. The I-AA football committee gave Chattanooga a good recommendation in late November to the Championships Cabinet, who approved it earlier this week.
Roachel Laney, chairman of the I-AA committee and former Appalachian State athletic director, was impressed with the city’s response after the catastrophic field conditions during last year’s game.
Finley Stadium’s newly sodded surface came up in clumps during the James Madison-Montana game, providing a miserable playing surface. A national television audience witnessed the debacle, leading to a local fund-raising effort for artificial turf spearheaded by businessman Gordon Davenport Jr.
After the installation of turf by Dayton-based TC Thiolon USA, the eight-member I-AA committee believed the city was committed to keeping the game. They voted unanimously to keep the game in Chattanooga, Laney said.
"We felt Chattanooga was the right place for the championship," he said. "We hope it’s there for many years to come.
"I would agree that my opinion is kind of biased being a member of the Southern Conference, but I’ve traveled throughout the country and seen tremendous venues. There’s not another city that can offer what Chattanooga can."
As has been the case since 1997, the first $150,000 made in ticket sales will go to the NCAA, and the sports committee will get the next $75,000. New language in the contract will give the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga the next $5,000 as "an honorarium to the host institution."
"I like it. I think that’s an excellent idea," UTC athletic director Steve Sloan said. "Really, we realize the economic impact to the city, and we’re most pleased about that. The ancillary benefit to us is the stadium and the program get publicity. But we’ll still take the $5,000."
The remaining money will be distributed between the NCAA and the sports committee, with 80 percent going to the NCAA.
E-mail Brad Shepard at [email protected]
By Brad Shepard Staff Writer
Increased local interest helped Chattanooga get a contract extension to continue to host the Division I-AA football national championship game.
That momentum will need to carry into the next two years as well.
Though the financial specifics of the agreement between Chattanooga and the NCAA are virtually unchanged, there is at least one major difference.
At least 10,500 tickets must be sold locally for the 2006 championship game, and that number rises to 11,000 in 2007, according to the contract. Greater Chattanooga Sports and Events Committee president Merrill Eckstein said the most tickets sold locally was "around 9,200" last year.
"I think we’ll be up again this year," Eckstein said. "I don’t know if we’ll reach 10,000, but we’ll be close.
"The biggest challenge for us (with the new contract) will be reaching the local ticket sales level." Failure to meet the contract’s local ticket requirements will result in the sports committee having to pay a penalty to the NCAA.
"I look at those numbers as goals rather than conditions," said Dennis Poppe, NCAA executive director for football and baseball. "I want to see this game continue to grow."
Though the new agreement guarantees the game staying through 2007, there is an option for a third year. Eckstein said there will be a "window of negotiation" throughout January 2008 when no other city can bid on the game. Eckstein’s early plan is to send another proposal to the NCAA before the ’07 game so negotiations can begin.
Now local and NCAA officials are pleased to have the new contract out of the way so they can focus on next week’s championship festivities and the Dec. 16 game.
"I think we’ve had issues in the past to take away from the two teams," Poppe said. "We look forward to starting the new relationship next week, and, most importantly, making sure the concentration is on the two teams."
Local officials for several weeks have been positive about getting a contract extension. The I-AA football committee gave Chattanooga a good recommendation in late November to the Championships Cabinet, who approved it earlier this week.
Roachel Laney, chairman of the I-AA committee and former Appalachian State athletic director, was impressed with the city’s response after the catastrophic field conditions during last year’s game.
Finley Stadium’s newly sodded surface came up in clumps during the James Madison-Montana game, providing a miserable playing surface. A national television audience witnessed the debacle, leading to a local fund-raising effort for artificial turf spearheaded by businessman Gordon Davenport Jr.
After the installation of turf by Dayton-based TC Thiolon USA, the eight-member I-AA committee believed the city was committed to keeping the game. They voted unanimously to keep the game in Chattanooga, Laney said.
"We felt Chattanooga was the right place for the championship," he said. "We hope it’s there for many years to come.
"I would agree that my opinion is kind of biased being a member of the Southern Conference, but I’ve traveled throughout the country and seen tremendous venues. There’s not another city that can offer what Chattanooga can."
As has been the case since 1997, the first $150,000 made in ticket sales will go to the NCAA, and the sports committee will get the next $75,000. New language in the contract will give the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga the next $5,000 as "an honorarium to the host institution."
"I like it. I think that’s an excellent idea," UTC athletic director Steve Sloan said. "Really, we realize the economic impact to the city, and we’re most pleased about that. The ancillary benefit to us is the stadium and the program get publicity. But we’ll still take the $5,000."
The remaining money will be distributed between the NCAA and the sports committee, with 80 percent going to the NCAA.
E-mail Brad Shepard at [email protected]
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