Hint: it’s not the location
The ACC is hoping that a change of scenery will make a difference in slumping championship game attendance. After consecutive disappointing crowds in Jacksonville, the game will be moved to Tampa in 2008 and 2009 and then to Charlotte in 2010 and 2011.
The ACC just needs to accept that if two out of FSU, Clemson, Virginia Tech, and maybe NC State aren’t playing in the game, they’re better off playing it at Paladin Stadium.
ACC commish John Swofford said, "For the first three years we had one superb year attendance wise in the inaugural game and then the next two were not what we would have hoped," Swofford said. "And what we’re after is simply to find the best mix, and I think it does take a mix of local sales with the sales from the participating schools."
Local sales? Tampa, home of the Big East’s USF, is an odd choice. The additional distance south of Jacksonville should be great for traveling fans too. Charlotte is a much more central location, but it’s still going to come down to which two teams are playing.
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BoB Hall
December 14th, 2007
7:13 am
It’s always seemed to me that when the ACC set up their divisions they really made a hash of it. Done during a period of FSU and Miami ascendancy, they were set to allow them to play for the title.
The Carolina schools are unhappy because expansion and divisions messed up their basketball traditions. This is the big problem with the ACC in football; Its first and foremost interest is basketball!
It seems the ACC has three teams (Clemson, BC, and VT) that will travel well and have a large fan base. We saw last year what Wake and Tech brought to Jacksonville. Unless one of the above three teams is in the game, it is always going to be a low draw.
BoB