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Tampa Riverwalk takes center stage in College Football Playoff plans

 
Published July 19, 2016

TAMPA — As officials gave an update Tuesday on January's College Football Playoff, one of the biggest stars of next season's national championship game festivities glistened in the background of the Tampa Convention Center.

Downtown's Riverwalk.

"We feel that this is going to be the coming-out party for the completed Riverwalk and downtown," said Carlos Alfonso, the chair of the host committee.

That's because the water is an important part of the event, beginning with a beach-inspired Tampa Bay 2017 logo and continuing through the major events of what has become a days-long celebration of college football leading up to the Jan. 9 championship game at Raymond James Stadium.

The events calendar announced Tuesday runs all along the Riverwalk.

The Florida Aquarium will host a Taste of the Championship food festival featuring more than a dozen local restaurants, including Ava, Columbia and Datz. Visitors will be able to walk from the Playoff Fan Central festivities at the convention center to the Playoff Playlist Live! concert series at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.

"The Riverwalk hasn't been completed to the degree that it is (now) for any of our major previous events," said Rob Higgins, the Tampa Bay Sports Commission's executive director. "The way the Riverwalk connects event venues and brings the water to life is truly phenomenal. This is a chance to see it in action."

It's also a chance for the playoff to try a slightly different setup. The previous two hosts, North Texas and Phoenix, were sprawling metro areas. The University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale was 18 miles from most of the events in downtown.

Aside from the game itself and a few hotels, almost all of Tampa's sites are within walking distance.

"We'll have a core energy in the downtown area that will be new for us," said Bill Hancock, the College Football Playoff's executive director.

The playoff's staff met last week to finish its review of January's game in Arizona and turn its attention to Tampa. Last season's title game in Arizona brought 65,000 visitors to the Phoenix area and made an estimated economic impact of $273.6 million, according to Hills­borough County Commissioner Ken Hagan.

Hancock said there won't be any major changes. Instead of holding media day at the convention center, as Phoenix did, it will be at Amalie Arena to cut down on excess sound but still allow fans to watch.

"Don't fix it if it ain't broke," he said.

Hancock was first introduced to the Tampa Bay area when Tropicana Field landed the 1999 NCAA Final Four. He said he was "blown away by the sincerity and the hospitality" then and found it still remains when he heard about the area's excitement for landing the title game.

"That passion is still here," Hancock said. "Downtown Tampa is just almost a different place."

Much work remains before teams and fans arrive in January. Fans looking for tickets can enter a random drawing online at tampabay2017.com through May 31.

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Nearly $100 million in renovations to Raymond James Stadium remain ongoing. Playoff officials have been here at least nine times already but will continue coming for monthly meetings. Performers for the concert series will likely be announced in November; Arizona's artists included Ciara and John Mellencamp.

"We feel good about where we're at, 8½ months out," Higgins said, "but naturally we're going to work each and every minute of every day to make sure that we make this the best possible event we can."

Contact Matt Baker at mbaker@tampabay.com. Follow @MBakerTBTimes.