The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Bowl hosted its annual summer summit in preparation for the December matchup and it is expected that the fourth edition will continue the trend of creating an impact on the NCAA bowl season.

Various stakeholders of the event, including the Bowl Committee, ESPN Events, The Ministry of Tourism, the National Sports and Authority, delivered their reports on the previous matchup and expectations for the upcoming year at the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl Summit.

Pete Derzis, senior vice president and general manager of ESPN Events, said his organisation has sought to create a symbiotic relationship between local and international stakeholders.

“The Bahamas Bowl gives a chance to host two teams in a world-class destination, in a world-class resort, with world-class hospitality that is second nature to the Bahamian people. With the improvements we have experienced with the new field, the feedback from the teams last year was just tremendous.

“The local team has done a wonderful job in really fulfilling fantasy. The Atlantis is second to none and we always see a ‘wow’ factor look on the faces of the students, coaches, parents and support staff that comes. This would not be possible without the key stakeholders, to stage a game of this magnitude.

“The Ministry of Tourism has been a tremendous part of what we have done in crafting it and really opening it up to the schools in the United States. These types of events aren’t possible if it is not a fair value exchange. Those dollars get ploughed right back into this economy and that is something that is very important to us. At ESPN, we televise it nationally, in millions of households and it also goes internationally to 40-50 countries. We have created a great platform here for a lot of people to benefit and those that participate benefit the most because it is a once in a lifetime opportunity. “

ESPN is in year three of a six-year commitment since they added the bowl to its staple of events in 2015.

The bowl was acquired from Bahamas Bowl, LLC, which owned the inaugural game in 2014.

This year, the game is scheduled for 12:30 pm on Friday, December 22, in an effort to take full advantage of the long holiday weekend.

“We are three years through our original six-year commitment as it relates to the bowl game and we are really looking forward to this being a long-term proposition, not just a six year one,” Derzis said, “From an economic standpoint we have been really pleased with our growth year after year - a 3$3.5 million direct impact in the Bahamas, about 2300 hotel rooms, during the course of the bowl so we are making a lot of progress and meeting a lot of the guidelines that we have planned.”

Howard Karawan, President and Managing Director of Atlantis Paradise Island, said the event serves multiple purposes, including creating business opportunities and exposure for the Bahamas.

“Exposure for a sporting event needs to be the icing on the cake and we get great exposure internationally. As important as exposure, or even more so, primarily is bringing thousands of visitors to the island and to Atlantis. Those visitors go back and tell their friends and family and that is really our objective and I think we share that objective with the ministry of tourism, that is to do events that brings business here because in the ends its dollars spent in the islands and getting people to experience our wonderful culture because word of mouth really is what drives tourism,” he said, “That is why we have made a commitment to the Bahamas Bowl moving forward because we see this as a long-term solid foundation at a time of the year that is not very busy. During the game and the week before is a slow time so it’s a perfect time for us to bring people here. But it’s not just about experiencing the Atlantis, but experiencing the Bahamas, integrating the cultural offerings in food, art and music because people aren’t coming here for an American experience.”

Joy Jibrilu, Director General of the Ministry of Tourism said the game is transitioning into a staple of the Bahamian Christmas season.

“One of the things I enjoy is listening to the players at the press conferences when they come down because they always mention that ‘It’s a dream come true, it’s a dream destination’ and that is the type of energy we want to hear and we want repeated. We reached 91 million households in the Untied States and the event has created great excitement because of the things that happen so we look forward to more of that taking place. We have had highly successful games in the past three years and we expect nothing less this year,” she said, “It is interesting to me to think that American football is becoming a part of the Bahamian Christmas and so in addition to Junkanoo and Christmas shopping, everyone is adding college football to it.”

Jeffrey Beckles, NSA General Manager, the fourth edition of the Bahamas Bowl will come on the heels of a busy 2017 for Sports Tourism and the NSA will be ready with further improvements to infrastructure.

“By the time the Bahamas Bowl comes around in December we would have hosted three regional events and three world events. That would given us a tremendous head start on the improvements we have committed too when we host this football game. We are happy to announce that we have just completed our brand new 6.5 acre open field in addition to the TAR. The original stadium has undergone a complete rehab so the team will have fill access to all fields. Every time you come to the Bahamas you will see some expression of our commitment to hosting these events.”

Crowds of over 13,000 each year in Nassau have watched the only current bowl game played outside of the United States.

The inaugural game in 2014 saw WKU beat Central Michigan 49-48 in a memorable offensive shootout. In 2015, Western Michigan beat Middle Tennessee 45-31 and last year, Old Dominion held off Eastern Michigan 24-20.

As with the first three editions, the 2017 Bahamas Bowl will feature teams from Conference USA and the Mid-American Conference. For more information on the Bowl, visit BahamasBowl.com. The game is one of 13 postseason bowl games owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN.