Representatives from the National Stadium Authority (NSA), the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) and Conference USA recently visited the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando, Florida in preparation for the upcoming Popeyes Bahamas Bowl on December 24 at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.
The goal of the trip was to experience the pre-game production for a college football game.
UCF is the second-largest university in the United States, and a team from the school will be working with Conference USA to produce the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl.
The NSA's focus is to maximize the use of the stadium and gain the expertise needed to host world-class events.
Angelika Cartwright, district sales manager for youth, student and educational
travel in the Ministry of Tourism, said the ministry is seeking to boost visitor arrivals through the diversification of its tourism product.
"Our overall goal is always to increase stopover visitors to the country. These games are allowing us to tap into new markets and show the world that we have more to offer than sun, sand and sea," she said.
"The great thing is in giving our visitors more to do, we're also providing wholesome and fun recreational activities for the Bahamian community to enjoy. A great side effect would be for our young people to be inspired to go to college or get involved in sports when they see the comradery and excitement of college sports."
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) will provide a bowl-eligible team for the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl.
The MAC has 2014 tie-ins with the Popeyes Bahamas, Boca Raton, Famous Idaho Potato, GoDaddy and Raycom Media Camellia bowls, with a secondary tie-in with the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl (if Navy is not bowl-eligible or the Mountain West does not have enough eligible teams).
The participants for the 2014 Popeyes Bahamas Bowl will be announced Sunday, December 7.

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