The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

As the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl prepares to host its third edition, the organising committee promises to extend its reach within the local community as the event continues to make an impact on the NCAA Bowl season.

Various stakeholders of the event, including the Bowl Committee, ESPN Events, The Ministry of Tourism, the National Sports Authority and participating conferences, delivered their reports on the previous matchup and expectations for the upcoming year at the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl Summit.

Pete Derzis, senior vice president and general manager of ESPN Events, said his organisation welcomed the addition of the bowl to its staple of events in 2015.

“The Bahamas rolls out the red carpet for us and it’s a great experience to see the warmth and hospitality.  Our history shows that we have had improved ratings on all different platforms with our events. This is year three of a six-year contract and we look forward to the growth of this relationship.”

The bowl was acquired from Bahamas Bowl, LLC, which owned the inaugural game in 2014.

For the first time in its brief three-year history, the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl will shift from its Christmas Eve date.

This year, the game is scheduled for 1pm on Friday, December 23, in an effort to take full advantage of the long holiday weekend.

“With the move of the game to  December 23, we look forward to seeing more Bahamians and families attend the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl as schools are out of session and many workers will have the day off prior to the holiday weekend,” said Richard Giannini, executive director of the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl.

“I would like to thank our staff that works primarily on the bowl game here. Lea [Miller] and Chris [Pika] play a significant role in organising the games. It’s been a lot of hard work and challenges but it’s really been great. Thanks of course also goes out to the  Ministry of Tourism and the NSA has been tremendous as well. With Popeyes, we couldn’t have asked for a better title sponsor.”

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen has extended its title sponsorship in a multi-year deal with the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl.

Added Hector A Muñoz, chief marketing officer in the US for Popeyes:

“I would like to thank everyone for what they’ve done to make this event what it is today and also the local community for embracing the Popeyes brand. This is a special event and we take this seriously store advertisements 8 billion impressions. Packaging, or and advertising something we are proud of. Record setting opening second restaurant in south west Nassau. Last year was great both teams brought their a games 

Munoz also said that after the franchise experienced a record setting performance of its Prince Charles restaurant, they are set to add another in Southwest New Providence, in particular the Carmichael area.

Under the theme “Football, Family and Fun” the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl continues to expand its reach with each edition.

Despite critics citing a lack of attendance in the 15,000 seat Thomas A Robinson Stadium for both previous editions of the game, the game continues to garner notoriety and viewers as one of the bowl games now in the ESPN stable of events.

According to Sports Media Watch, the 2015 Christmas Eve matchup, which saw the Western Michigan Broncos top the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders, drew in 2.1 million viewers on ESPN. The 45-31 win for the Broncos was the first bowl win in school history.

The offensive display between the two teams featured six touchdowns of 40 yards or more.

Those viewing numbers from 2015 represented a 43 per cent increase from the 2014 game, its inaugural edition.

The high scoring matchup that saw the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers win 45-31 over the Central Michigan Chippewas, drew in an estimated 1.5 million viewers.

In total, the inaugural Popeyes Bahamas Bowl locked in 11 million views on ESPN, was featured in 401 news segments and there were 1,587 news articles written about the game.

Director General of Tourism, Joy  Jibrilu, looks for the event to continue its upward trend.

“Not only is the game well known, but now it falls on the perfect day. Both previous editions were a resounding success. The coverage has created invaluable exposure for the Bahamas and the 2016 game is shaping up to be another fantastic event,” she said.

General Manager of the National Sports Authority, Jeffrey Beckles, said his organisations goal is to ultimately generate a progression in the amount of local patrons to the Thomas A Robinson stadium with a goal of 10,000 for this year.

The Bahamas continues to grow sports tourism brand and this partnership counties to provide positive results,” he said,  “Many of the participants didn’t know about the Bahamas but now we become an integral part of their life. Even bowl games are better in the Bahamas.”

Both bowl game winners have hailed from the Mid-American Conference. In those editions the opponent was from Conference USA and in 2016 it will be from the American Athletic Conference.