After the 2014 bowl season comes to an end, the BCS/bowl era as we know it will be coming to an end and a new playoff system will take its place.
On Monday, the College Football playoff announced that their National Championship game in 2016 under their new format will be played in Arizona at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.
“This is a great day for Arizona,” said the Fiesta Bowl Executive Director Robert Shelton. “Our communities will unite and provide an unmatched experience for all.”
Arizona has proven itself to be one of the greatest settings for premiere college football events, and has become a favored destination for fans from around the country,” mentioned the executive director of the College Football Playoff Bill Hancock. “The folks in Arizona put together an exceptional bid that really won the day with the management committee.”
The other cities that were up for bid in 2016 were New Orleans, Jacksonville and Tampa Bay but Arizona was awarded the game. Tampa Bay also put in a bid for 2017 and were awarded the game for that year. The Fiesta Bowl will be a semi-final game in 2017 leading into that year, so the 2016 bid for Arizona was an all-or-nothing approach by not just the people of the Fiesta Bowl who spearheaded the bidding process, but from many around the state including the Arizona Cardinals and Senator John McCain just to name a few.
“We thank the College Football Playoff for choosing Arizona and recognizing the strong commitment of our public and private stakeholders,” stated chairman of the Arizona Host Committee and President of the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority Tom Sadler. “We are grateful for an opportunity to host the title game and set a new standard of excellence.”
Starting in 2015, this college football post season will have a whole new format. Dr. Shelton mentioned that there will be six major bowl games, including the Fiesta Bowl, that will be played on New Years Eve and New Years Day. In 2016, that will be the case for the Fiesta Bowl on top of having the Championship game as well. And every third year, the Fiesta Bowl will hold a semi-final game, the first as mentioned coming in 2017.
2016 will be the eighth national title game held in Arizona. The last four that BCS championship games that were played in the state in 1993, 2003, 2007 and 2011, produced a combined economic impact of $646.2 million according to studies by ASU.
Dr. Shelton mentioned that they estimate the economic impact of the game in 2016 to be around $200 million.
“The College Football National Championship Game represents an evolutionary milestone in the history of college football,” mentioned Shelton. “We have a vast volunteer base that stands ready to support this game. Arizona promises to serve as a progressive host and ensure that the event realizes it;s incredible potential.”
Check out Dr. Shelton show off the “bid box” used for Arizona to secure the National Championship game:
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Jared Cohen
A born and bred Arizonan, Jared has had great passion for the hometown teams all his life. He now channel's that passion into covering the pro, college and high school teams around the state as a Multimedia Reporter for Sports360AZ.