Florida Citrus Sports and ESPN Announce 2006 Champs Sports Bowl Date
Florida Citrus Sports and ESPN announced the Champs Sports Bowl will be played in primetime this December. The game, first of two bowls hosted in Orlando only 65 hours apart, will kick off at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, December 29, 2006, airing nationwide on ESPN.
Florida Citrus Sports’ other game, the Capital One Bowl, will kick off on Monday, January 1, 2007, televised live on ABC.
Only three cities in the country have the privilege of hosting two bowl games, with San Diego (Pacific Life Holiday and San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia) and New Orleans (Wyndham New Orleans and Allstate Sugar) being the others. However, the proximity of Orlando’s games will make this year very special.
The Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium will host both games in less than three days’ time. This is the first time in college football bowl history that two games have been played in the same city and the same venue under such a tight schedule.
The Champs Sports Bowl has made great strides since moving to Orlando. Attendance in the game has increased steadily every year since the move, hitting 31,470 last year.
Additionally, Florida Citrus Sports secured stronger conference tie-ins for the 2006 game. The bowl will now pair upper-tier teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big Ten Conference. The Champs Sports Bowl will receive the third post-BCS selection in the ACC and either the third or fourth post-BCS pick in the Big Ten. Currently, the Champs Sports Bowl is the only bowl match-up between the ACC and Big Ten.
The Champs Sports Bowl has existed in name since 2004, but the game’s history extends for over 15 years. Originating at the Blockbuster Bowl in 1990 and played in Miami, the game was played under a number of titles before moving to Orlando in 2001 and serving as a reincarnation of the old Tangerine Bowl. It was the addition of Champs Sports as a title sponsor that allowed Florida Citrus Sports to aggressively pursue the growth and development that made the game what it is today.
Tickets for the game will be $50 before November 1, 2006, and $60 thereafter. Memberships for the Florida Citrus Sports 2006-2007 season, many of which include tickets to both the Champs Sports Bowl and the Capital One Bowl, are now available. Please call 407.423.2476 for more information.