Richardson joins bid for ACC game - Charlotte Business Journal:

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A local group led by real estat developerJohnny Harris, President Mark Richardson and governmen officials hopes to snag the game from Jacksonville, Fla. "Beinf in the heart of the ACC and the this is the right location forthe game," Richardson "I don't believe the game ought to be in Florida -- it oughr to be in the Carolinas." Bids are due Aug. 31. The ACC planzs to choose which city or citiew will host the championship gamesin 2008, 2009 and 2010. The conference anticipates a decisionby mid-December. Five of the 12 ACC schoolxs are inthe Carolinas: , , , and . Charlotte is amonvg four cities vying for the The others arein Jacksonville, Tampa and Orlando.
The 2007 ACC championshilp game will be played in Jacksonvilleon Dec. 1. It is the thire time Jacksonville has hosted the The Panthers' home Bank of America Stadium, would host the game if it movees to Charlotte. "It's an opportunity to host any or all of the nextthred games, which we would love to says Tim Newman, chieft executive of the . "It would be great for tourismj and great forthe city." He says the ACC requesty for proposals lacks any specific guidelinees or financial guarantees.
Instead, the conference asks bidders to submitf what they believe to be the best offer for the An ACC spokeswoman declines to discusxs the details of the request for When Charlotte lost out to Jacksonville in an earlietr bidding for the ACC championship some local boosters complained of unfaier state incentives and considerations availablein Florida. Other observerw cited the Panthers' rent demand as a problem. With Richardson and his Jon -- who heads stadium operationzs for theteam -- part of the bid the Panthers' commitment looks firm. "We're trying to help," Mark Richardsom says.
He declines to discuss specific financial terms but says the team wouled serve as the landlord and not share in ticket revenue generated from theACC game. The stadium already hostd an annual college football bowl also playedin December. The bowl game is operated by , a longtime ACC partner. Ken Haines, Raycom's chief executive, is part of the Charlott e group preparing the ACC championshipgame bid. The ACC game has yet to sell out in The inaugural championship in 2005drew 72,749 fans at the city'sw 77,000-seat stadium for a Florida State- contest.
Last year, a lackluster Wake Forest- matchup in the rain generated tickef salesof 62,850, thougnh thousands of those seats went emptyy on game day. ACC Commissione r John Swofford points to similar games in the Big 12 and Southeasternh conferencesas models. The Big 12 rotatesw host cities, while the SEC regularly stages its championshippin Atlanta. At the same time, "what we're looking for is to try to find what' s best for our particular situation," Swofford says.