WATCH FOR Tallahassee’s Apalachee Regional Park’s newly-renovated cross country course, a masterpiece that will continue to bring in big dollars for the community and bigger events in the future.
“There’s nothing else like it in the state, and there are few places in the country — less than five — that have this good of a course,” said FSU cross country coach Bob Braman. “So we’re going to be winning bids for a lot of events.”
The FSU Invitational, held last weekend and featured college and high school runners, is one of the largest cross country events in the South.
The high school portion included many of the elite runners and teams in the state and featured more than 200 teams and as many as 3,000 runners from Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.
Including the spectators traveling with the athletes, that means a substantial boost to the local economy as visitors flood into restaurants, hotels, stores and gas stations. Along with the Florida High Schools state meet on Saturday, Nov. 9, county officials expect to see a total of $1.9 million in direct spending.
“We expect there will be $800,000 in direct spending this weekend alone,” said Lee Daniel, executive director of the Leon County Tourism Development Department.
WATCH FOR, literally, the progress of Daytona International Speedway’s historic DAYTONA Rising project, as it now has the ability to look-in on the construction site.
Utilizing state-of-the-art EarthCam technology, race fans will have a view of the construction activities along the frontstretch grandstands with multiple vantage points including a panorama view and the ability to zoom in.
There are three robotic 288 megapixel archiving cameras as well as four HD streaming cameras aimed at the construction work taking place at Daytona International Speedway.
DAYTONA Rising is a $400 million reimagining of an American icon – Daytona International Speedway. Five expanded and redesigned entrances, or “injectors,” will lead fans to a series of escalators and elevators, transporting them to three different concourse levels. Each level features spacious social areas, or “neighborhoods,” along the nearly mile-long frontstretch. At the conclusion of the redevelopment, Daytona International Speedway will have approximately 101,000 permanent, wider and more comfortable seats, twice as many restrooms and three times as many concession stands. DAYTONA Rising is expected to create 6,300 jobs, $300 million in labor income and over $80 million in tax revenue, will be completed in time for the 2016 Rolex 24 At Daytona and DAYTONA 500.
For tickets and more information on Daytona International Speedway events, visit http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or call 1-800-PITSHOP.
WATCH FOR the 2013 Florida International Senior Games & State Championships Registration Book to be mailed out to over 10,000 prospective 50 and over athletes in the State of Florida.
Online registration is now open for the 23 sports and events of the 2013 Games, to be held December 7-15 in Lee County.
The Tampa Bay Senior Games and the Kissimmee/St. Cloud Senior Games are in full swing this week and the Ormond Beach Senior Games begin on October 26.
After Ormond Beach, there are only two local Games qualifiers remaining in November, the Golden Age Games (November 2-9) and Martin County Senior Games (November 2-11).
Entry fees for the 2013 Florida International Senior Games & State Championships vary by sport and registration deadlines are in mid-November.
WATCH FOR the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, the cross-state rivals, who have developed a new competition to engage fans: the Governor’s Cup.
A new initiative, the Cup will be presented to whichever team takes home the best head-to-head record. Both teams will provide donations to its rival’s youth hockey initiative, as well as providing tickets to local students for Governor’s Cup games.
Of course, with the new alignment, the two will only play each other four times, meaning it’s possible that the series could end in a tie. Not to worry though, as tiebreaker scenarios are already in place.
The Lightning won the first game, 7-2, last Thursday in the Tampa Bay Times Forum. The next of the four game series will be held in the BB&T Center in Sunrise.
Sunday, Oct. 27, Lightning at Panthers, 5 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 23, Lightning at Panthers, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 13, Panthers at Lightning, 7:30 p.m.
“The Sunshine State is a national leader in sports, and the creation of the Governor’s Cup is great news for Florida hockey. This competition is an excellent way to highlight the opportunities that Floridians, and our visitors, have to enjoy all of the wonderful activities that our state has to offer,” Florida Governor Rick Scott said.
WATCH FOR the opportunity to purchase tickets for March Madness almost five months before the madness begins at the Amway Center in Orlando.
As a valued fan, here’s an opportunity to purchase tickets for the 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball 2nd & 3rd Rounds on March 20 & 22 at the Amway Center before they go on sale to the general public. Use the offer code FLASPORTS.
The pre-sale window will start on October 15th at 10 am and end on October 17th at 11:59 pm.
Central Florida has enjoyed a great partnership with the NCAA dating back to the mid 1990’s, successfully hosting numerous NCAA National Championships. In all, 41 NCAA National or Regional Championships will have been staged in Central Florida from 1997 through 2014. Championships decided in the area include the 1999 and 2004 Men’s Division I Basketball First and Second Round Games.
The Weekly “What to Watch For in Florida Sports,” is compiled by Florida Sports Foundation Director of Communications, Nick Gandy. Follow the Florida Sports Foundation on Facebook and on Twitter #fla_sports. Visit http://www.flasports.com for more information about the Florida Sports Foundation and the vibrant sports industry in the Sunshine State. Florida is Where The World Comes to Play.
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