When will the Citrus Bowl be renovated?The NCAA has released the 2009-10 bowl schedule and as usual it shows two Big Ten games a few days apart in Orlando.
However, it might not be business as usual. Iliana Limón of the Orland Sentinel reports from the wonderful world of Disney...
Florida Citrus Sports chief executive officer Steve Hogan says Orlandos's Capital One Bowl is in danger of losing its position as the best bowl game outside college football's Bowl Championship Series.
Hogan spent last week in California working to renew the certification of the Capital One Bowl and the Champs Sports Bowl played in Orlando. The NCAA recertified both games, but meetings with officials from conferences that send teams to Orlando gave Hogan a massive headache.
Leaders of the Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten pounced, immediately asking Hogan about progress made toward renovating the Citrus Bowl.
Improvements to the dilapidated stadium projected to cost $175 million have been tabled indefinitely, with Hogan and several city officials agreeing it could be 10 years before the venue would be renovated because of the nosedive in tourism tax revenue.
Hogan said the SEC and Big Ten have grown tired of waiting for the renovation - especially with other cities such as Dallas, with a new $1 billion stadium, looking to muscle in on Orlando's bowl positioning.
"The first thing the commissioners told me was 'I thought you guys had approved renovation of the stadium. I don't think you guys realize how important this is for us,'" Hogan said. "...I didn't expect to be shocked as I was about how pointed and concerned our existing sponsors are right now."
Hogan said FCS is in danger of losing the right to pick the best available teams from the SEC and Big Ten for the Capital One Bowl, which usually pits the second-place teams from each conference. The game has a marquee Jan. 1 date, a strong television slot and the highest payout ($4.25 million per team last season) among bowls not part of the BCS lineup.
The Cap One Bowl likely would be unable to maintain that status--or be able to target teams with the largest traveling fan bases--if it is dropped in the pecking order for SEC and/or Big Ten teams. Those leagues have enjoyed coming to Orlando, bringing thousands of tourists to help bolster Orlando's economy.
The Champs Sports Bowl, which currently has deals with the Big Ten and ACC, could encounter the same problem. Combined, the two games generate more than $70 million in economic impact for the region annually.
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