Second College Bowl Game for Atlanta?

[Matthew]

This is breaking news I saw this morning on WSB-TV Channel 2.

Second Bowl Game for Atlanta?

POSTED: 5:01 am EST November 18, 2004

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Sports Council wants to bring a second bowl game to the city.

Council president Gary Stokan said Wednesday he has been in talks with the ACC, the Big Ten, television networks and potential sponsors about bringing another college football bowl game to Atlanta.

If it happens, it would make Atlanta the fourth city with two bowl games.

Stokan envisions the new bowl to match a team from the ACC against a team from the Big Ten at the Georgia Dome on Dec. 27 each year, four days before the Peach Bowl.

"It's very doable," said Stokan, who is also president of the Peach Bowl. "I've looked at it from 18 different angles and it just makes so much sense."

He projects the bowl could draw crowds of about 50,000 without adversely affecting the Peach Bowl, which has had seven consecutive sellouts of the 72,000-seat Georgia Dome.

The new bowl would be a notch below the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in the postseason pecking order, with a per-team payout between $1 million and $1.5 million. The Peach Bowl pays $2.3 million per team.

Stokan said he has gotten "very positive" reactions in preliminary discussions with conferences, TV and potential sponsors. He plans more talks with the ACC and Big Ten in January. He said he hopes to see games for the new bowl start as soon as next year.

That would require approval from the NCAA's recently renamed "football licensing subcommittee" at its next meeting in April.

The committee's requirements for a new bowl include a $2 million letter of credit, a national television deal, a contract with at least one conference and a "show of support" from the host city. Stokan said the letter of credit would be backed by television and sponsor dollars.

Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[ATLman1]

Go ATLANTA!!

[wolfdawg54]

That is pretty neat but don't you think that we have too many bowl games? Maybe if one of the nobodycaresaboutyou.com bowls will dissappear for the new bowl.

[ironchapman]

I'm for anything that will make Atlanta greater. Go ATL!

[Mith242]

Slightly different subject but I wish the SEC would go back to switching out the title game. Atlanta is a great place to have the title game but it just doesn't seem right for the SEC west to always end up being the away team. I wish they would at least go back to playing it in New Orleans every once in a while. Give the SEC west teams an advantage every once in a while.

[TennBear]

Slightly different subject but I wish the SEC would go back to switching out the title game.  Atlanta is a great place to have the title game but it just doesn't seem right for the SEC west to always end up being the away team.  I wish they would at least go back to playing it in New Orleans every once in a while.  Give the SEC west teams an advantage every once in a while.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Mith,

The SEC never swtched the titial game around. It was in Birmingham as the initial site and then they decided to move the game to Atlanta. The reason was the greater media available in Atlanta and the Georgia Dome. That being said, I agree with you and think that the Superdome would be a great site to hold the event every other year. When the event is held in Atlanta, have the SEC East Team be the home team and when in New Orleans have the SEC West Team be the home team. It would be nice for the fans because they would not always be going to the same city. I am certain that the fans would be much happier coming back to New Orleans for the Bowl Game, than returning to Atlanta. Going back to Atlanta would mean that they lost the game and got passed on by several of the tie-in bowls that rank higher. Going back to New Orleans means that they won and are in the BCS.