Florida Sports Monthly Update - December, 2015 Upcoming Events 2015 College Bowl season begins in Florida with inaugural Cure Bowl
Players, staff members and fans of 18 college football teams will be December 5-13, 2015 waiting in anticipation on Sunday, December 6 to find out if their 24th Annual Florida Senior teams will be playing in one of the State of Florida’s nine college Games football bowl games. Clearwater, Florida
January 19, 2016 The inaugural AutoNation Cure Florida Tourism Day Bowl, in Orlando, kicks off 15 Tallahassee, Florida days of college football action on the first day of bowl game January 27, 2016 play, Saturday, December Florida Senior Day Tallahassee, Florida 19. The nine-game slate includes games in the Orlando, Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, Palm Beach and Miami areas. The FSF Sponsors highlight of the 15 days comes on New Year's Eve when the College Football Semifinal Playoff Games at the Orange Bowl is played at Sun Life Stadium.
Four Florida college football teams have reached bowl eligibility status and the Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles, Miami Hurricanes and South Florida Bulls will also await their post-season destination on Sunday, December 6. Follow all of the December action at Florida Football Central, which will be updated each Monday until the end of the 2015-16 NFL season.
Start planning now for 2016 Florida Spring Training season
Didn’t the 2015 World Series just end? You know what that means. It’s only a matter of time before Florida baseball stadiums in 14 communities statewide will come alive with a Florida tradition dating back to the late 1800s, Major League Baseball Spring Training. Fans of the Florida Grapefruit League can start planning now as schedules for a majority of the teams are posted at www.floridagrapefruitleague.com. Ticket information is also posted on the site and links are available for fans to download the most convenient way to follow the Florida Grapefruit League, with a Mobile Phone App. Fans can also request a 2016 Florida Spring Training Guide or view it digitally when it is complete in January.
The season begins with in late February and runs through the first Florida Sports Foundation couple of days of April. Look to be hearing every baseball fan’s A Division of Enterprise Florida, favorite words after a long winter, “Pitchers and Catchers will be Inc. reporting,” in mid-February. 101 North Monroe Street Suite 1000 Tallahassee, FL 32301 (850) 488-8347
2015 Florida Senior Games begins Saturday in Clearwater Clearwater Satellite Office 1501 N. Belcher Road, #238 More than 2,000 of Florida’s Finest Senior Athletes will compete in 24 Clearwater, FL 33761 (727) 724-3082 sports, over the course of nine days, in Clearwater and Pinellas County, beginning Saturday as the 2015 Florida Senior Games makes www.flasports.com its Tampa Bay area debut.
The Games kick off Saturday morning at The Long Center, in Clearwater, with an official welcome from Mayor George Cretekos. The 2014 Florida Senior Games Athletes of the Year, Danuta Kubelik, of Crystal River (above on left) and Walt Deal, of Clearwater (above center), will receive their awards and Ryan Beighley, of The Villages (above right), will be recognized by the National Senior Games Association, with a "Personal Best," honor.
Clearwater and Pinellas County become the seventh Florida community to host the 24th Annual Florida Senior Games, December 5-13. This year is the first year of a two-year commitment in Clearwater and Pinellas County. The 2016 Florida Senior Games will serve as a qualifier for the 2017 National Senior Games, to be held in Birmingham, Alabama.
Besides the nine days of sports and events for athletes age 50 and over, The 2015 Florida Senior Games has been sanctioned as an “Official Centennial Event,” of the City of Clearwater’s celebration of its 100th birthday.
Follow the 2015 Florida Senior Games on Facebook throughout the week and "Like" the page for continued updates.
FSF Awards 39 Grants at November Board of Directors Meeting
In the continued quest to make the State of Florida the top sports destination in the country, the FSF awarded 39 grants to sporting events that will bring a projected 222,000 visitors to Florida along with more than $165 million in projected impact.
While the events recently awarded will take place between December, 2015 and November, 2016, the month of December, 2015 features five FSF Granted Events including the 2015 College Football Playoff Semifinal Game in Sun Life Stadium on December 31 and the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) Soccer Winter Showcase, in Sanford, December 28-30.
The College Football Playoff Semifinal Game, to be televised nationally on ESPN, will bring more than 69,000 visitors and $85 million in projected impact to South Florida. The ECNL Winter Showcase, has 160 teams currently registered in divisions ranging from 15 and under to 18 and under and will bring more than 10,000 visitors and $5 million in projected impact to Seminole County.
Through two quarters of the 2015-16 Fiscal Year, the FSF has awarded 63 grants which will bring over 368,000 visitors to Florida and over $318 million in economic impact.
Daytona International Speedway to Host 2016 Ferrari World Finals
Daytona International Speedway has added a prestigious new event to its 2016 calendar – the Ferrari World Finals on Dec. 1-4 – which is being held in North America for the first time in history.
The Ferrari World Finals will bring together all competitors from the European, North American and Asia Pacific series of the Ferrari Challenge for a battle for the World Championship in their Ferrari 458 Challenge EVOs on Daytona’s 3.56-mile road course.
Other highlights of the weekend are the display and running of historic Formula 1 cars, Ferrari’s exclusive XX Program and, to cap the weekend, Scuderia Ferrari’s Formula 1 show. The show traditionally features the current Formula 1 drivers (in 2015 Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel) in demonstrations of pit stops, thrilling accelerations and fast laps.
The Ferrari World Finals have been traditionally held in Italy as well as Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
Staying competitive in sports tourism
The sports tourism industry contributed $8.96 billion in visitor spending across the nation in 2014, according to a study done by NASC and George Washington University.
In Sarasota County, the local sports commission in fiscal year 2015 sponsored 112 events, generating more than $144 million in economic impact and 101,310 room nights, all double- digit increases from the previous year.
Sarasota County offers beautiful weather year round, which is appealing to athletes in outdoor sports that are difficult to train for in colder climates.
Palm Beach County to Crown NAIA Men’s Soccer National Champion
The Palm Beach County Sports Commission and Keiser University will partner to host the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men’s Soccer National Championship in the Palm Beaches for the second consecutive year. The NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship will take place at the Hilltopper Stadium and the adjoining Seacrest Soccer Complex in Delray Beach from November 30 to December 5. The event consists of 16 teams competing in 15 games in pursuit of a national title.
The 57th Annual NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship will feature the top 16 teams in the NAIA. And will provide a significant tourism impact to Palm Beach County. The 16 teams will bring over 480 soccer players and coaches along with thousands of students, alumni, and soccer enthusiasts from across the nation. The tourism impact will be felt countywide as the event will generate a significant level of visitor spending and hotel rooms throughout Palm Beach County. Over $1 million in direct visitor spending is expected to be generated due to this National Championship.
Upcoming FHSAA Championships
The FHSAA Football Championships at the Orlando Citrus Bowl will serve as a preparation for the upcoming College Football Bowl season as eight High School Championship Games will be played in the stadium over th next two weekends.
The 1A-4A Championships are December 4-5 and the 5A-8A will be played December 11-12.
The Road to Orlando and the FHSAA Football Championships in the Citrus Bowl Friday, December 4 1A – Port St. Joe vs. #1 Trenton High School 2A – Jacksonville University Christian vs. #1 Tampa Cambridge Christian Championship Games – Saturday, December 5 3A – Delray Beach American Heritage vs. #1 Jacksonville Trinity Christian 4A – Jacksonville Raines vs. Miami Booker T. Washington
Semifinal Games (to be played this weekend) 8A – West Orange vs. Osceola – Miami Columbus vs. Pembroke Pines Flanagan 7A – Columbia County vs. Viera – Bradenton Braden River vs. Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas 6A – Naples vs. Miami Central – Cantonment Tate vs. Seffner Armwood 5A – Wakulla County vs. Clay County – Tampa Jesuit vs. Orlando Bishop Moore Winners play in the 5A-8A Championship Games, Friday, December 11 and Saturday, December 12
Florida State Seminoles Soccer Team returns to College Cup
The reigning National Champions, the Florida State Seminoles women's soccer team meets the Duke Blue Devils Friday night in their fifth consecutive College Cup appearance. The Seminoles will look to add to their 10-game winning streak in NCAA tournament play at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.
The Seminoles will play in the second semifinal match of the 2015 NCAA Women’s College Cup on Friday evening. Sixth-ranked Penn State and ninth-ranked Rutgers will meet in the first semifinal at 5:00 p.m.. Each match of the semifinals, as well as the national championship game on Sunday, December 6 at 12:00 p.m.
The Last Word - With nine College Football Bowl Games being played in Florida between December 19 and January 2, the State of Florida has the opportunity to entertain fans from as many as 18 diferent states. All games will be televised nationally on a variety of networks, giving the state as many as 36 hours of television airtime. Fans in areas of the country in colder temperatures will see their fellow fans enjoying football games in t-shirts and will listen to tales of beach parties at the St. Petersburg Bowl and Outback Bowl, strolls on Atlantic Beaches and visits to Orlando area attractions. No wonder Florida leads the nation with nine games in December and January. Where else would you want to go?