When the clock ticks down to 0:00 at this December’s NAIA college championship football game, thousands of fans will be able to walk from Barron Stadium to downtown Rome on the “bridge to somewhere.”
City officials say the pedestrian bridge over the Oostanaula River, once maligned as the “bridge to nowhere,” will be finished in time for a grand opening in late April — just one of several changes the city will see by December.
Rome will also be ready in other ways.
“The nice thing is that by the time we are the official host, we’re going to have approximately 200 new hotel rooms here in our community, which will put us easily over the 1,000 mark,” said Lisa Smith, executive director of the Greater Rome Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Who knows what else will be on line by that point?”
She and Bill Peterson, athletics director at Shorter College, estimated the economic benefit to Rome and Floyd County at $1 million to $1.5 million after The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics announced Thursday that Shorter College and Rome have been awarded the 2008 and 2009 NAIA Football National Championships. Both championships will be determined at Barron Stadium, where the Shorter College Hawks now play. This year’s game will be Dec. 20, and the 2009 contest will be Dec. 19.
Peterson based his economic guess on “what I saw in the Chattanooga area” during the I-AA football championships.
“I think a lot of the economic impact is going to depend on what schools end up in the playoff and also what kind of events we can put around the NAIA that will also attract people for a longer stay than just coming to the ballgame,” Smith said.
“People in the community will come up with other things around the game, such as having the symphony play a concert,” Smith said.
Al Hodge, president and CEO of the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce, said Thursday’s announcement is tremendous news.
“The visitors to the community for a national championship game will be significant and help the hospitality industry, for one,” said Hodge. “Another significant plus is it’s nationally televised exposure. To buy that kind of exposure would be very expensive.
“I commend the administrative and coaching staffs of Shorter College; also, the city, county and convention and visitors bureau worked together successfully.”
Ann Arnold, Rome’s Downtown Development director, said the exposure the game will bring to Floyd County is a plus for everyone.
“This is good not just for downtown but great for the entire community at large and for Shorter,” said Arnold.
“We are both honored and humbled to be selected as the host institution for the … championship games,” Peterson said. “The NAIA is made up of very talented and dedicated student-athletes, along with many hard-working and innovative coaches, and we are excited about helping them showcase their abilities to the entire nation.”
Staff writer Jeremy Stewart contributed to this report.
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Click here to view the championship host agreement.
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Click here for the NAIA press release.
Click here to see the host requirements.
