cat daddy
Active Member
I really didn't expect the game to be moved. It is official now for at least 4 more years.
http://www.theadvocate.com/stories/111502/spo_bayou001.shtml
Bayou Classic Staying
By SCOTT DYER
[email protected]
Capitol news bureau
The Bayou Classic will stay in the Big Easy for at least four more years.
Complaints about high hotel prices in New Orleans on an otherwise slow Thanksgiving weekend had officials from the two colleges threatening to take their annual football showdown elsewhere when their 10-year deal with the Superdome expired last November.
But Southern University officials said offers from Houston, Orlando, and other cities helped to give Southern University and Grambling some leverage in negotiating a new four-year deal with the Superdome and special prices with New Orleans hotels.
Houston had offered to hold the hotel rates below $125 a night, and had promised to make many of the rooms available for less than $100 a night.
Last year, the average New Orleans hotel room cost more than $200 a night during the Bayou Classic, prompting concern from some Southern University board members that students were getting priced out of the market.
This year, many New Orleans hotels have agreed to set aside blocks of rooms for the Bayou Classic at special prices ranging from $100 to $150 a night, according to Donald Wade, president of Southern University's alumni federation.
"We went down and sat down with the hotels, and what we basically did was to get them down close to the prices that they charge for the Essence Festival," Wade said.
The Essence Music Festival, held annually in New Orleans, attracts thousands of fans each July by showcasing black music.
The alumni's negotiations were aided by a resolution passed earlier this year by the New Orleans City Council, urging the hotels to charge similar rates to those for the Essence Festival.
In all, nearly 10,000 hotel rooms are covered under the alumni federation's agreement, Wade said.
"We took several of the larger hotels like the Hyatt Regency, the Fairmont and the Intercontinental, and booked those rooms through our office," Wade said.
The Hyatt Regency New Orleans has set aside a limited block of rooms that cost $148 for a king, compared to $149 for the Essence festival.
And the Holiday Inn French Quarter has set aside a block of rooms for the Classic at $129 a night, which is lower than their Essence rate of $143 a night.
Other hotels are charging slightly higher than for the Essence Festival, but still substantially less than for last year's Bayou Classic.
Most of the hotels continue to require a two-night minimum for the Bayou Classic, Wade said.
Wade said fans can take advantage of the special rates at other hotels by asking for the "alumni rate."
"Unless you ask for the alumni rate, they're going to give you the regular price," Wade said.
In addition to the better hotel rates, the Bayou Classic also scored a better deal with the Superdome.
Southern University System Vice President Ralph Slaughter said Grambling and Southern were paying about $100,0000 a year to rent the Louisiana Superdome under the 10-year deal that expired last November.
"The new four-year contract with the Superdome states that the rent cannot exceed $50,000," Slaughter said, noting the Bayou Classic will receive an attendance credit that could drop the actual cost even more.
The leverage in the Superdome negotiations came from Houston, which offered the use of its new retractable-roof, 69,500-seat Reliant Stadium to the two schools for only $35,000 a year.
"It made everybody sit up and take notice," Slaughter said.
Houston also offered to cover many of the game-day expenses, such as security and ushers during a proposed two-year contract.
Last year, the Superdome charged the schools more than $150,000 for game-day expenses.
Those costs are still there this year, but Slaughter noted a special $100,000 appropriation from the Louisiana Legislature is helping ease the sting of those costs.
"We need to give credit to the governor, because it helped that his people got involved -- particularly (former chief of staff) Steve Perry and (assistant chief of staff) Rodney Braxton," Slaughter said.
Slaughter said the state had already been subsidizing other major bowl games and tournaments.
For instance, the state is allocating $1.1 million this year for the Sugar Bowl, $950,000 for the NCAA Men's Final Four in New Orleans and $375,000 for the Independence Bowl in Shreveport.
And the state is forking out $350,000 for the New Orleans Bowl, a fledgling bowl game that for the next four years will pit a school from the Sun Belt Conference against a representative of Conference USA.
This is the second year that the state has subsidized the New Orleans Bowl.
State officials are hoping that replacing the Mountain West Conference with the Sun Belt Conference will attract a larger following that last year's crowd of 18,898, which had an estimated economic impact of $15 million on the state.
By contrast, the Bayou Classic almost always sells out the 72,000-seat Superdome and attracts nearly 200,000 to New Orleans on what would otherwise be a slow Thanksgiving weekend. Last year, New Orleans city officials estimated the economic impact on their city at about $50 million.
"The $100,000 appropriation is a nice start, but we have a lot bigger economic impact than some of those other events and we're hoping for a little more equity," Slaughter said.
Tickets for the annual football game between Southern University and Grambling go on sale to the general public Tuesday.
The tickets for the general public range in cost from $25 to $36, and will be available Tuesday at Ticketmaster outlets, the Superdome and Southern University Ticket Office. For more information, call 359-9328.
http://www.theadvocate.com/stories/111502/spo_bayou001.shtml
Bayou Classic Staying
By SCOTT DYER
[email protected]
Capitol news bureau
The Bayou Classic will stay in the Big Easy for at least four more years.
Complaints about high hotel prices in New Orleans on an otherwise slow Thanksgiving weekend had officials from the two colleges threatening to take their annual football showdown elsewhere when their 10-year deal with the Superdome expired last November.
But Southern University officials said offers from Houston, Orlando, and other cities helped to give Southern University and Grambling some leverage in negotiating a new four-year deal with the Superdome and special prices with New Orleans hotels.
Houston had offered to hold the hotel rates below $125 a night, and had promised to make many of the rooms available for less than $100 a night.
Last year, the average New Orleans hotel room cost more than $200 a night during the Bayou Classic, prompting concern from some Southern University board members that students were getting priced out of the market.
This year, many New Orleans hotels have agreed to set aside blocks of rooms for the Bayou Classic at special prices ranging from $100 to $150 a night, according to Donald Wade, president of Southern University's alumni federation.
"We went down and sat down with the hotels, and what we basically did was to get them down close to the prices that they charge for the Essence Festival," Wade said.
The Essence Music Festival, held annually in New Orleans, attracts thousands of fans each July by showcasing black music.
The alumni's negotiations were aided by a resolution passed earlier this year by the New Orleans City Council, urging the hotels to charge similar rates to those for the Essence Festival.
In all, nearly 10,000 hotel rooms are covered under the alumni federation's agreement, Wade said.
"We took several of the larger hotels like the Hyatt Regency, the Fairmont and the Intercontinental, and booked those rooms through our office," Wade said.
The Hyatt Regency New Orleans has set aside a limited block of rooms that cost $148 for a king, compared to $149 for the Essence festival.
And the Holiday Inn French Quarter has set aside a block of rooms for the Classic at $129 a night, which is lower than their Essence rate of $143 a night.
Other hotels are charging slightly higher than for the Essence Festival, but still substantially less than for last year's Bayou Classic.
Most of the hotels continue to require a two-night minimum for the Bayou Classic, Wade said.
Wade said fans can take advantage of the special rates at other hotels by asking for the "alumni rate."
"Unless you ask for the alumni rate, they're going to give you the regular price," Wade said.
In addition to the better hotel rates, the Bayou Classic also scored a better deal with the Superdome.
Southern University System Vice President Ralph Slaughter said Grambling and Southern were paying about $100,0000 a year to rent the Louisiana Superdome under the 10-year deal that expired last November.
"The new four-year contract with the Superdome states that the rent cannot exceed $50,000," Slaughter said, noting the Bayou Classic will receive an attendance credit that could drop the actual cost even more.
The leverage in the Superdome negotiations came from Houston, which offered the use of its new retractable-roof, 69,500-seat Reliant Stadium to the two schools for only $35,000 a year.
"It made everybody sit up and take notice," Slaughter said.
Houston also offered to cover many of the game-day expenses, such as security and ushers during a proposed two-year contract.
Last year, the Superdome charged the schools more than $150,000 for game-day expenses.
Those costs are still there this year, but Slaughter noted a special $100,000 appropriation from the Louisiana Legislature is helping ease the sting of those costs.
"We need to give credit to the governor, because it helped that his people got involved -- particularly (former chief of staff) Steve Perry and (assistant chief of staff) Rodney Braxton," Slaughter said.
Slaughter said the state had already been subsidizing other major bowl games and tournaments.
For instance, the state is allocating $1.1 million this year for the Sugar Bowl, $950,000 for the NCAA Men's Final Four in New Orleans and $375,000 for the Independence Bowl in Shreveport.
And the state is forking out $350,000 for the New Orleans Bowl, a fledgling bowl game that for the next four years will pit a school from the Sun Belt Conference against a representative of Conference USA.
This is the second year that the state has subsidized the New Orleans Bowl.
State officials are hoping that replacing the Mountain West Conference with the Sun Belt Conference will attract a larger following that last year's crowd of 18,898, which had an estimated economic impact of $15 million on the state.
By contrast, the Bayou Classic almost always sells out the 72,000-seat Superdome and attracts nearly 200,000 to New Orleans on what would otherwise be a slow Thanksgiving weekend. Last year, New Orleans city officials estimated the economic impact on their city at about $50 million.
"The $100,000 appropriation is a nice start, but we have a lot bigger economic impact than some of those other events and we're hoping for a little more equity," Slaughter said.
Tickets for the annual football game between Southern University and Grambling go on sale to the general public Tuesday.
The tickets for the general public range in cost from $25 to $36, and will be available Tuesday at Ticketmaster outlets, the Superdome and Southern University Ticket Office. For more information, call 359-9328.
