"We are always looking at considering ideas to make us better, to keep things fresh and new and innovative, Neville said. This was an opportunity that came from the relationships we've built through decades. It was a relationship that opened this door for us, so we considered it. It would have been foolish to say, No way.' Of course, we're going to consider this."
"Revenue streams are limited for us, so we've got to get creative, Neville said. This is a pretty creative way. That's where this whole concept came from, and we pursued it. We went down the path. It takes a big idea like this, or a big event like this, it takes a lot of pieces to the puzzle to put together. In the end, the pieces of the puzzle just didn't come together."
"The combined payout to the teams participating in the Holiday Bowl is $5.9 million. It would have been substantially greater for a game played in Saudi Arabia. Sports San Diego also would have received significant money to move the game there as a one-off event, helping ease some of the financial strain. The game's financial reserves were exhausted when COVID-19 forced the 2020 and 2021 contests to be canceled."
Holiday Bowl organizers explored staging the January game in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to address severe financial shortfalls. Sports San Diego CEO Mark Neville visited Saudi Arabia in June for meetings and logistics planning. The proposed one-off move would have increased payouts and provided substantial money to Sports San Diego. The plan required ACC approval, and reported ACC objections ended the proposal. The Holiday Bowl traditionally matches an ACC team against a current or former Pac-12 member and was eyed for Jan. 2 at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium. Financial reserves were depleted after COVID-19 cancellations in 2020 and 2021, necessitating creative revenue solutions.
Read at www.sandiegouniontribune.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]