Alabama now hosts 3 bowl games, why can't Mississippi host ONE?

[Taog Redloh]

I just noticed the Camelia Bowl in Montgomery, in addition to Birmingham and GoDaddy. All 3 of those stadiums are piles of sh*t. And there is NOTHING in Montgomery that Jackson could not offer. So, is there some reason Jackson can't do this? Is it stadium ownership, sponsors, etc.? Raycom, GoDaddy, and Sheraton. Can Jackson not convince a sponsor like that to come to town?

If they can't, it might be time to look to the Coast, Tupelo or the Memphis metro to build a stadium. Football doesn't seem to be going away. Seems like it would be a good economy booster.

[MrKotter]

Where does Mississippi have a stadium and accommodations to support a bowl game?

[lachepas565]

The state flag prevents Mississippi from hosting any NCAA sanctioned post-season event. Baseball is a little different because the teams earn it, but you can't have a bowl or NCAA basketball event.

[Taog Redloh]

Does Veterans Memorial not count? Am I missing something that keeps that off-limits?

I don't see what accommodations Montgomery has that Jackson does not. I guess they do have the Renaissance and Embassy Suites hotels downtown, but sh*t does Jackson not have hotels? I'm not an expert on Jackson but surely hotels can't be the stumbling block.

[msstate7]

Where does Mississippi have a stadium and accommodations to support a bowl game?

Jackson held a preseason nfl game, surely it can handle some garbage bowl game. It's not like it'd be a big time bowl. 2 small time schools playing and at most 15-20k fans

[Dallas_Dawg]

The state flag prevents Mississippi from hosting any NCAA sanctioned post-season event. Baseball is a little different because the teams earn it, but you can't have a bowl or NCAA basketball event.

And yet another reason to change the flag. I'm so sick of hearing about a GD flag, let's just change it and PROGRESS

[Bothrops]

Well Memorial Stadium itself is fine, but years and years of poor leadership in town has made Jackson an impossibility. Therefore, a bowl game in Mississippi is not doable. Alabama is light years ahead of Mississippi in promoting tourism and commerce.

[sleepy dawg]

Jackson held a preseason nfl game, surely it can handle some garbage bowl game. It's not like it'd be a big time bowl. 2 small time schools playing and at most 15-20k fans

Jackson did hold a preseason game (multiple actually), but I'm not sure I would call what Jackson did as "handling" a game. The preseason games I went to were the poorest run events I've ever been to in anything. We don't need a game, just to get a game, because it will be a nightmare experience. The only way we should host a game is if a private group forms that is interested to doing something special. Jackson can't handle such things.

[PassInterference]

That NFL preseason had ONE gate for the whole stadium. People that arrived in Jackson a couple hours before kickoff missed the game waiting in gridlock and/or the ONE line to get in the stadium.

When you get to a town 2 hours before kickoff and can't get in the stadium before the 4th quarter scoreboard hits 0:00, that city doesn't deserve to host a football game.

[Jarius]

Living in Jackson, I would love to have a bowl game. I would go no matter who was playing just to see it, but like others have said, I'm sure Jackson would mess it up. The King Edward, Marriot, or Hilton would be fine for the teams to stay in. Lots of good food in Jackson. Not much in the way of tourism though. Most teams would not enjoy a trip to Jackson as their postseason destination, but they probably don't enjoy Montgomery or Birmingham either.

[Taog Redloh]

Jackson did hold a preseason game (multiple actually), but I'm not sure I would call what Jackson did as "handling" a game. The preseason games I went to were the poorest run events I've ever been to in anything. We don't need a game, just to get a game, because it will be a nightmare experience. The only way we should host a game is if a private group forms that is interested to doing something special. Jackson can't handle such things.
Yes, this was the sort of thing I was talking about. But, the administrations of Birmingham and Montgomery are just as moronic, but they could also have private enterprises running the show, like you say.

[Taog Redloh]

Well Memorial Stadium itself is fine, but years and years of poor leadership in town has made Jackson an impossibility. Therefore, a bowl game in Mississippi is not doable. Alabama is light years ahead of Mississippi in promoting tourism and commerce.
Which is a shame, because Mississippi could really prosper in tourism if we did it right. And for this reason, we probably need to get rid of the state flag. Civil rights tours, Blues Trail, Natchez Trace, all the history in the Delta, etc. etc. etc. Mississippi should have jumped on tourism long long ago.

[Taog Redloh]

When you get to a town 2 hours before kickoff and can't get in the stadium before the 4th quarter scoreboard hits 0:00, that city doesn't deserve to host a football game.
Agreed, but before we call it a spade and move on, why not at least ATTEMPT to get some people in there that might know a thing or two about running this sort of deal?

[TrapGame]

The C Spire Veterans Bowl.

..and that's all I got.

[gravedigger]

So.....why do we want to?

[Taog Redloh]

So.....why do we want to?
Good question. Best I can come up with:

- Influx of tourism dollars into the state
- Get people to MS

[1bigdawg]

The state flag prevents Mississippi from hosting any NCAA sanctioned post-season event. Baseball is a little different because the teams earn it, but you can't have a bowl or NCAA basketball event.

The flag is the reason, yet Georgia's flag is the official Confederate flag with a seal on it and they get to have whatever: Hippocrits with lack of education/ignorance of history.

[TimberBeast]

And yet another reason to change the flag. I'm so sick of hearing about a GD flag, let's just change it and PROGRESS

The flag doesn't need to be changed, the rule does. The flag doesn't discriminate against anyone, but the rule discriminates against the entire state.

[LC Dawg]

I'm not sure who was in charge but the Saints/Colts preseason game was a disaster.
I just can't believe that Memorial Stadium is in any kind of shape to hold a bowl game and no game promoter is going to front enough money to repair a stadium. I think the hotels in Jackson and surrounding areas could accommodate a crowd of 30,000 and it would be great for the local restaurants and clubs but I don't see this happening. Jackson's administration doesn't seem that concerned with helping Jackson.

[Johnson85]

If they can't, it might be time to look to the Coast, Tupelo or the Memphis metro to build a stadium. Football doesn't seem to be going away. Seems like it would be a good economy booster.
Football stadiums have terrible ROIs for cities. You're not going to see any Mississippi city build one any time soon, unless Jackson State somehow forces the legislature to pony up a huge chunk for a stadium in Jackson. Just not enough ways to make money off of football stadiums. They're not typically good concert venues and being outdoors, they can't also double as convention space.

[Political Hack]

The coast is the only place worthy of hosting a game IMO. Maybe Tupelo.

Neither have the facility to do it and the bowl season is already saturated as hell.

[Bothrops]

Tupelo area doesn't have near enough population. Hell..they don't even have airline service anymore.

[Liverpooldawg]

This is a moot point till the state flag is changed.

[Johnson85]

The coast is the only place worthy of hosting a game IMO. Maybe Tupelo.

Neither have the facility to do it and the bowl season is already saturated as hell.

The Coast would be a really good place to host a bowl. Good entertainment options to pair with the bowl, plenty of hotel capacity, the best airport in the state, a good population within an hour drive, and plenty of small time schools (which would obviously be the likely participants) within a half day drive. Basically the entire SUn Belt except for Appalachian St. is within a 10 hour drive and most are significantly closer. Then La Tech, USM, and UAB are all pretty close from the CUSA. If they have to go further, any school close to Dallas, Houston, or Charlotte have easy flights and New Orleans is a decent option for those without direct flights into the Coast.

But there's no chance they get a facility. It woudl have been great if the minor league baseball stadium had been built to accommodate football also, but I'm not sure how easy that would be to do without ending up with a pretty bad baseball and football stadium, even if they had had enough space where they built, which I don't think they did.

Too bad the Rock is a little too far. If it was only 30-40 minutes away instead of an hour, it might be possible for the Coast to host everything but the actual game. Wouldn't be that different from some stadiums that are on the outskirts of a metropolitan area.

[PassInterference]

You folks sit tight. Jackson State will get a 60,000 seat dome eventually.**

[State82]

Well Memorial Stadium itself is fine, but years and years of poor leadership in town has made Jackson an impossibility. Therefore, a bowl game in Mississippi is not doable.

This sums it up well. No way Jackson could pull off an event like that successfully. It would be a complete Charlie Foxtrot.

[BiscuitEater]

Jackson held a preseason nfl game, surely it can handle some garbage bowl game. It's not like it'd be a big time bowl. 2 small time schools playing and at most 15-20k fans

Well .. if you went to OR attempted to go to that NFL preseason game in Jackson, you KNOW 'why' Jackson and Veteran's is NOT up to hosting a game with anywhere close to a large crowd.

[TopDog58]

Well .. if you went to OR attempted to go to that NFL preseason game in Jackson, you KNOW 'why' Jackson and Veteran's is NOT up to hosting a game with anywhere close to a large crowd.

As I sat near the Woodrow Wilson ramp & witnessed traffic at a standstill as the national anthem was being played I vowed never to return to that POS stadium. I left my house in Brandon an hour and a half prior to kickoff and never made it onto Woodrow Wilson. I ate the tickets and went back home down Lakeland Drive.

[BeardoMSU]

The flag doesn't need to be changed, the rule does.

Right, the rule just doesn't understand the flag's history***

[Pollodawg]

Because no one wants to spend New Years Eve in the worst part of Jackson, which is the only city in MS capable--and I use that term loosely--of handling what a bowl game would demand of it.

The coast would be ok, but there isn't a stadium to do it in down there.

[Pollodawg]

As I sat near the Woodrow Wilson ramp & witnessed traffic at a standstill as the national anthem was being played I vowed never to return to that POS stadium. I left my house in Brandon an hour and a half prior to kickoff and never made it onto Woodrow Wilson. I ate the tickets and went back home down Lakeland Drive.

Not to mention it's in a bad part of town.

[ScoobaDawg]

As has been said... There is no facility that can handle it in a city that can handle it.
What a shame. Maybe USM could relocate to the coast and have a reason for a stadium to be built. Because there is no other reason to build one there any of the big 3 in the state arent giving up a home game for a game there.

[Interpolation_Dawg_EX]

Someone reads ED and calls OOB...regular or a lurker?

[Jarius]

As awesome as Oxford is said to be I can't believe that a bowl game wouldn't be dying to start up there.

[BeardoMSU]

As awesome as Oxford is said to be I can't believe that a bowl game wouldn't be dying to start up there.

That will all change once they bowl in the endzone and get rid of those metal bleachers***