ASU Hornets shut out in classic;
Area hotels know the feeling
By Chip Drago
Mobile Bay Times
The city apparently realized less than $4,000 in tax revenues from hotel occupancy for the Gulf Coast Classic, a college football game and associated activities backed with $350,000 in city dollars, according to a survey of 16 area hotels.
The hotel survey reflected 763 room nights connected to the GCC, according to various general managers of the properties. Rates ranged from $75-$144 a night.
The total hotel revenue tied to GCC was $81,956.90, according to the report. More than $35,000 of the figure represents the expense of housing the Alabama State University and Southern University football teams and the school's bands.
The city collects a general sales tax on room occupancy and a second special two percent tax which is dedicated to generating tourism and convention business. The county also collects a special two percent tax earmarked for a marketing budget intended to attract profitable business for the area's hospitality community.
"The numbers are not good," said a disappointed local hotel executive.
The numbers do not reflect expenditures at restaurants, grocery stores, gift shops or gas stations.
Southern blanked ASU 15-0 Nov. 15 before an announced crowd of 25,387 at the Virginia Street stadium, although later reports asserted an actual turnstile count of 10,732. Since then, ASU was slammed with five years' probation for NCAA violations including those governing recruiting, financial aid, eligibility and academic fraud, from 1999 to 2005. Most of the charges were linked to the Hornets' football program. It was the fourth major infractions case for the university and the third for the football program, according to the NCAA.
Both City Councilmen Reggie Copeland and Fred Richardson have called for an audit/economic impact study of the event.
Featuring ASU as the home team, the Gulf Coast Classic has been played at Ladd Stadium here for 35 years. Last year's game received $40,000 in city support. This year's GCC, however, represented an attempt to "rebrand" the game as a genuine "classic" featuring the same two teams on about the same date annually. Proponents of the move cited other regional success stories such as the Magic City Classic in Birmingham between ASU and Alabama A&M and the Bayou Classic in New Orleans pitting Southern against Grambling. Richardson and other supporters have compared the revamped GCC to BayFest, the LPGA Tournament at Magnolia Grove, the GMAC Bowl and the Senior Bowl as other visitor-oriented events that have benefited and succeeded with financial backing from the city.
Gulf Coast Scholar and Sports Foundation this year took over management of the classic. Among the GCSSF directors are Richard Davis, Taylor Hodge, Steve Harrelson and Ray Lapierre. Hodge also serves on the ASU Board of Trustees. Davis serves on the Ladd-Peebles Stadium Board of Directors.
Harrelson did not return a call seeking GCSSF's accounting of the event.
Mayor Sam Jones' city budget for fiscal year 2008-09 initially called for funding of $450,000 for the GCC. The City Council debated the appropriation, bitterly at times, before compromising at $275,000 on a 5-2 vote. Subsequently, the game received an additional $75,000 in city monies when Richardson and Council colleagues, William Carroll and Clinton Johnson, each contributed $25,000 from his discretionary account.
The GCC got another $50,000 in public monies from Mobile County through its marketing account which is funded by a special tax on hotel occupancy.
This year's game initially provided for guarantees of $250,000 and $225,000 for Southern and ASU, respectively.
"We (he, Jones and the mayor's staff) met last week and I'm still waiting for some answers," said Copeland, president of the city council.
According to Copeland, Mayor's Chief of Staff Al Stokes said Southern received a check for $125,000.
"I want an accounting," said Copeland. "I want to see the checks. It's the taxpayers' money and they are entitled to know the facts -- good, bad or ugly."
Copeland and Councilwoman Connie Hudson voted against the $275,000 GCC appropriation.
From Ladd-Peebles' perspective, according to stadium General Manager Paul Christopher, the classic was a big success.
"As far as the stadium is concerned, it was a wonderful, wonderful day," said Christopher. "It was the largest number of motor homes at a single event that we've ever had. It was a very good day with concessions and parking was one of the better days ever. We sold the parking lot completely out."
In fact, said Christopher, six ASU busloads of attendees arrived from Montgomery about 30 minutes before the game and there was no space for them to park. They were dropped off for the game. The buses parked at Hank Aaron Stadium and collected the riders after the game for the return to Montgomery.
A cursory check of the restaurant industry turned up reaction good, indifferent and philosophical.
"We were very, very busy all day," said Jarret Wingfield, CEO of Saucy Q, a locally-owned barbecue restaurant group with four area locations, including one on Government Street not far from downtown hotels and Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Wingfield estimated that the restaurant did two to three times as much business as it would have done on an ordinary Saturday.
"We were pumping all day that day," he said. "Sometimes it can get slow on a Saturday."
"To be very honest, I really didn't notice any change from previous years," said David Rasp, owner of Heroes Sports Bar & Grill, Mama's and the Royal Scam. "There was no noticeable difference whatsoever. Let me put it this way, it is an event that does not impact my staffing at all. If there's an event at the Saenger or one of the bowl games (GMAC/Senior Bowls), I'll need more help in the kitchen and on the floor. But this doesn't have any effect on that, not inventory needs or any of that."
According to Christopher, the parking area reserved for recreational vehicles was busting at the seams like never before.
Christopher said more than 100 motor homes filled the stadium RV section at $25 each per day with many arriving a day or even two in advance of the game.
"The lot was filled with motor homes on Friday," he said. "Probably over half of them came Thursday. We got here Thursday morning and had about 35 motor homes. We had a steady stream all day long and took in the last motor home Friday afternoon."
Christopher said this year's classic also featured a number of hospitality tents unlike previous years.
"It was a very, very good and successful day for the stadium with our source of income being parking and concessions," Christopher said. "There were no incidents and no injuries. Parking, concessions and motor homes were good. It was a good day for the stadium."
It costs the stadium about $20,000 to stage the game and the expense will be reimbursed by the city, the manager said.
Historically black colleges and universities have embraced the "classic" format during the football season as akin to the bowl season among qualifying NCAA schools.
The Council's discussion of funding for the game was racially charged at times.
A downtown bartender was philosophical about the GCC, seeing a bright spot shining like a big moon pie through the clouds.
"Now I feel pretty good about that $9,000 moon pie because it only cost us $9,000," the bartender said. "Now a $9,000 moon pie seems like a bargain. I never thought I'd say that."
