It was disappointing – but hardly shocking – to see all the fans disguised as empty seats who turned out for last Saturday’s Atlantic Coast Conference championship game at Raymond James Stadium. For the record, attendance was less than 28,000 – and thousands of those were freebies. It was, alas, the perfect storm for a high-profile, athletic event.
Tampa was a neutral site for the teams, Boston College and Virginia Tech. Local appeal was negligible. Plus, the Gators-Alabama game would be on television a little later in the day.
Moreover, the two universities only sold 5,000 of their allotted 20,000 tickets. That’s because neither team knew it would be in the game until a week prior. Fans then had to book last-minute flights at last-minute prices.
And these necessarily hard-core fans also have likely holiday bowl games on their agenda. In a turbulent economic environment, the last-minute cost and logistics of the ACC championship game is a tough sell.
Next year, the game will be here again. Hopefully, Florida State University will be as well, and the Seminoles will play a de facto home game.
But there was a consolation prize to this year’s under-attended ACC championship game. Nationally-televised games always come with those aesthetic establishing shots and the cut-aways of the city skyline, Ybor City, boats, beaches and palm trees. The balmy weather speaks for itself. No chamber of commerce could afford that kind of network exposure.