August 31, 2005
Hurricane damage may force Sugar Bowl relocation
Damage and destruction to the Superdome and the City of New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina may force the relocation of the 2006 Nokia Sugar Bowl, one of the BCS crown jewels of the bowl season, according to an AP report.
Bowl Championship Series spokesman Bob Burda said Sugar Bowl officials hope to meet within the next few weeks to talk about what to do with the game scheduled for Jan. 2 in the Superdome.
"It's just too early on their end to even speculate," said Burda, adding that bowl officials had been in contact with BCS coordinator Kevin Weiberg.It's unlikely officials would want to let the Sugar Bowl leave Louisiana, even for just a year. Independence Stadium, home of the Independence Bowl, in Shreveport has been renovated in recent years and holds about 53,000. Tiger Stadium could also be a plausible option, with a capacity of almost 92,000.
I would think it would be difficult to stage an event with the size and scope of a BCS bowl in a mid-sized locale such as Shreveport or Baton Rouge, given the lack of hotels and other facilities. Also, Sheveport would likely have to move up its December 30th Independence Bowl game by several days to make room for the arrival of the Sugar Bowl onslaught.
A number of major convention cities with suitable stadiums, ample hotel rooms, and no conflicting bowl games the week prior to the Sugar Bowl could enter the mix to host the game. Detroit, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, and St. Louis come to mind, though BCS officals might try to shoehorn the game into an existing bowl city by flipping game dates around.
Sugar Bowl officials have previously indicated that the game and its festivities generate over $200 million annually for the local economy.
Presumably, the hurricane damage also brings into question the staging site for the December 20th Wyndham New Orleans Bowl, which pits the Sun Belt Conference champion against a Conference USA squad. The smaller size and scope of this event will likely grant organizers more flexibility in potentially moving it than its BCS cousin bowl will have.
Comments:
posted on August 31, 2005 11:16 PM — 12.217.43.245 — link — abuse?Robert Knodell said:
I know the bowl system gets ripped a lot, but to me, the Sugar Bowl and New Orleans are just a college football institution that I hate to see interrupted, even for a year.
The buildup to the game, the parties on Bourbon Street, the school spirit that takes over the French Quarter, so many college fb memories in the Superdome...to me there's no overall atmosphere like it, elsewhere in the BCS or otherwise.
Here's hoping the game is quickly restored to its proper location--the Superdome--as soon as it's practical (this year or otherwise).
posted on September 1, 2005 10:43 AM — 68.35.231.61 — link — abuse?
Reliant Stadium seems like the best option to me, they held a Super Bowl there, the Sugar Bowl would be in good hands.
Of course the question now is, even if the Sugar Bowl is in New Orleans, who would want to party in the rubble of the city?
posted on September 1, 2005 11:03 AM — 168.166.54.11 — link — abuse?
The only problem with Reliant Stadium is that the Houston Bowl is being played there on New Year's Eve. Cramming two bowl games into three days would be difficult, if not impossible, considering the demand on hotels and the weeklong circus that comes to town when there's a BCS bowl.
You're forced to move the date of the Houston Bowl up by several days (which, again, would likely cause problems for TV and corporate sponsors) or move the Houston Bowl to another city for a year. The same issues arise with other bowl cities, save for the ones that have early bowl-week games (like Vegas or Detroit).
One site I've heard quietly whispered about on radio for the Sugar Bowl is Legion Field in Birmingham. It's closer to New Orleans than Houston, doesn't have any conflicting bowl game, and has the hotels and amenities to pull it off.
Legion seats 72,000 (even after the old upper deck was removed) and has as many suites as the Superdome. It hosted soccer at the '96 Summer Olympics and Bama football for years, so they're no stranger to big events. Also, B'ham probably wouldn't use the game to try to parlay their way into a future BCS bowl game, as other aspiring cities might.
boifromtroy said:
posted on September 1, 2005 12:29 PM — 66.134.232.250 — link — abuse?
What about holding it in the Rose Bowl (or Orange or Fiester I guess) on January 1 as practice for the Plus 1 system?
Newspaper Hack said:
posted on September 5, 2005 7:13 PM — 70.240.182.83 — link — abuse?
I'm sure there's nothing more that B'ham would like than to reassert itself as the Football Capital of the South, but Legion Field is -- and I love that thing -- a POS. If they get the Sugar Bowl up there, that would be great, but I'm sure there'd be some bitching, too. For what it's worth, the B'ham politicians are angling again for a domed stadium for downtown, so they might push hard for the bowl for the attention.
George P. Burdell said:
posted on September 6, 2005 4:51 PM — 68.48.151.46 — link — abuse?
Having it in the state of Texas makes no sense as it is geographically outside of the SEC as traditionally the champion of the league goes to the Sugar unless in the BCS.
Birmingham or Atlanta makes the most sense. Especially Atlanta with the enormous hotel room and airport capacity.
Thomas said:
posted on September 18, 2005 2:29 PM — 64.12.116.139 — link — abuse?
Look for Atlanta or Jacksonville Fla. to end up with this years Sugar Bowl, Both have plenty of Hotels & both have a great Stadium, even know both have new Years Eve or Day bowl Games, I know for a fact that Atlanta is leading the way to get the 2006 host of the Sugar Bowl with all profits going the New Orleans , Atlanta has the Peach Bowl on New Years Eve. & wants the Orange to put the there Jan 3rd game on the 2nd & Atlanta host the 2006 Sugar Bowl on the Jan 3rd
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posted on September 10, 2006 1:24 PM — 65.98.90.149 — link — abuse?
The only problem with Reliant Stadium is that the Houston Bowl is being played there on New Year's Eve. Cramming two bowl games into three days would be difficult, if not impossible, considering the demand on hotels and the weeklong circus that comes to town when there's a BCS bowl.
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Jeff Quinton said:
posted on August 31, 2005 10:56 PM — link — abuse?Don't forget the Bayou Classic as well. That's one they could probably work something out with another school in the area.