TAXSLAYER GATOR BOWL: NOTRE DAME VS SOUTH CAROLINA

December 29, 2022

Greg McGarity

Mike Kenny

Ellis Burns

Cheryl Riddick

Keith Powers

TIAA Bank Field

Press Conference

TOM NORTON: Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the logistics press conference. Today we'll be going over important logistics for fans attending the game. We appreciate your help in getting word out.

I will introduce the panel, then they will have their remarks, then we'll open it up for any questions you may have.

Today we've got Greg McGarity with the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, we have Mike Kenny with ASM Global, we have Chief Ellis Burns with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Cheryl Riddick with JTA and Chief Keith Powers with JFRD.

I'll hand it over to Greg.

GREG McGARITY: Thanks. Good to see everyone here today. A great turnout at the first press conference, appreciate everybody being here.

I want to say before we start how grateful I am for the men and women at this table. They are really the ones that make it all work because we have to realize there's going to be close to 70,000 fans here, and very few of them have ever been to the stadium before. A lot of logistical challenges we have.

A couple of remaining game-day events. We have the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl prep rallies at Deck The Chairs at Jacksonville Beach Seawalk Pavilion from 5:00 to 7:00. The Notre Dame pep rally is at 5:30, South Carolina follows at 6:15.

On game day there is the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Fan Fest from 11:00 to 3:00 at Metro Park. All of those events are free and open to the public.

A reminder: Gates open at 1:30. The Notre Dame pep rally in Daily's Place is at 2:00, South Carolina is at 2:30. Pregame show presented by Fidelity National Financial at 3:00. Then kickoff a little after 3:30.

Again, I want to thank this group here for really making it happen because they are really the first person people see when they come to the city or the stadium. We appreciate the way they represent not only us but the city of Jacksonville and every other community close by. So thank you.

TOM NORTON: Mike.

MIKE KENNY: We are thrilled to be a part of this. This is a huge game for us. It's a huge opportunity I know for us at ASM Global and the city of Jacksonville to be able to host 60,000-plus new fans to TIAA Bank Field.

Just a couple of things. Everything I talk about today can be found on taxslayergatorbowl.com as well as jaxevents.com.

Stadium parking lots will open up at 8 a.m. There are still parking passes available for purchase. There will be parking available for purchase on game day.

However, please note in our ASM parking lots, it is cashless. We will only be accepting credit cards at those locations.

I ask that if you do not have a plan yet for parking, please make plans now, today, before tomorrow's game. JTA is here and will speak more about our stadium shuttle service that can certainly help you create that plan.

Ride share is located in Lot Z across from the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. One other thing, there are some activities in and around the sports complex tonight. It is important that all vehicles that are here tonight do get moved; otherwise, unfortunately, tomorrow before 8 a.m. they will all be towed at the owner's experience.

Our stadium box office opens tomorrow at noon, located between Gates 2 and 3. Our gates open up at 1:30. Fans are encouraged to get in early. We expect heavy crowds. We also have a couple of security measures that we do here at TIAA Bank Field that may be unfamiliar to other venues that these teams play at throughout the season, including metal detection screening, clear bag policies.

As a matter of fact, more specifically, all bags, whether all clear bags, must be smaller than 12 by 6 by 12. Any non-clear bag has to be smaller than 4 by 6, about the size of someone's palm. If it's non-clear, it must be smaller than your hand to get in.

Again, there's a full list of prohibited items on taxslayergatorbowl.com as well as jaxevents.com. Please, I encourage everyone to visit that and view those prohibited items so you don't get stuck with more to do on game day when you approach the gates.

It's also really important that I stress you can enter any gate. You can get to any seating section in the stadium through any gate. We encourage you to enter the first gate you come to, the one closest to where you park or tailgate. We will get you where you need to go once inside. We have extra staff inside the gates to help point you in the right direction. So, please, I encourage you to come into any gate.

Many of our tickets, the majority of our tickets, in fact, are mobile tickets. Please have those pulled up in the brightness setting on your phone all the way up. That will help us all in the scanning process once you get in.

There are several private parties inside the stadium. For those attending those private parties, please have your invites, tickets to those parties, which are separate from your game day ticket. We can also assist you getting to that location or those locations as well.

Inside the stadium, we are a cashless operation. If you only have cash, we do have exchanges for you at our guest services booth, but we encourage you to be prepared with cashless for any transactions that you may have inside the stadium.

Kickoff, as Greg I believe mentioned, is at 3:30 p.m. and we're broadcasted nationally.

There is a trophy ceremony at the end of the game. That will be taking place at the north end of the stadium. I just reiterate, as always, if you have any questions on game day, please do not hesitate to ask any of our stadium staff. We appreciate the opportunity to host 60,000 fans from two incredible teams.

Again, thank you very much. We will see you tomorrow.

TOM NORTON: Chief Burns.

CHIEF ELLIS BURNS: Good morning. I'm Ellis Burns, chief of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office special events division.

We're excited to partner with the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl committee, University of Notre Dame, University of South Carolina and the city of Jacksonville for this event.

We have a lot going on downtown this week with TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, New Year's Eve Run and the fireworks.

No matter the event, our goal remains the same as we are committed to public safety.

On Friday, game day, parking lot gates will open at 8 a.m. We are asking all attendees to arrive when the lots open. Additionally, if you have prepaid parking, we ask that you please display your pass in your windshield to help get officers -- officers get you to where you need to be.

Stadium gates will open at 1:30 p.m. to give you enough time to get in the stadium ahead of kickoff, which will be at 3:35 p.m.

Please be mindful of traffic when crossing the street, and please note we are here to help you.

For up-to-the-minute game day traffic information, please follow us on Twitter at JSOPIO.

On New Year's Eve there will be a 5K run starting at 3 p.m. in downtown Jacksonville. The race will begin near the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena and proceed westbound on Bay Street, past Riverfront Plaza, and then back on Bay Street to where it started.

Our officers will be using a hold-and-release traffic pattern at intersections along the race route. Westbound traffic on Bay Street will be allowed to go when feasible.

Guests staying at the Hyatt should use Market Street and avoid Newnan Street during the race time. Additionally, we recommend that Berkman Plaza residents use Liberty Street.

Lastly, please expect closures on both the Acosta Bridge and the Main Street Bridge starting around 11:30 p.m. ahead of the fireworks display at midnight on New Year's Eve.

Remember, there will be a lot of traffic on the roads this weekend. Please don't drink and drive. Please use the designated driver, let's all stay safe.

For our visitors, welcome to Jacksonville. We hope you enjoy our great city. Thank you, and Happy New Year.

TOM NORTON: Cheryl.

CHERYL RIDDICK: The JTA is always proud to support our partners at the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl to ensure fans have a safe and affordable way to get to the game. With Game Day Express, fans can park in one of JTA's secure parking lots and ride to and from TIAA Bank Field on the shuttle. For the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, the Game Day Express shuttle will provide rides from two park and ride lots, Kings Avenue parking garage, and the JTB park and ride lot.

The shuttles will start at 1:30 p.m., which is two hours before kickoff. There will be continuous shuttle service throughout the game to and from the Kings Avenue parking garage.

The postgame shuttles for both lots will start at the middle of the fourth quarter. The Kings Avenue lot pass is $10 per person, the JTB is $15 per person.

Game Day Express is cashless, and you can buy your pass on the my JTA app, available to download from the App Store or Google Play.

We recommend fans purchase their passes before game day to be ready.

For more information, visit JTAFLA.com and search Game Day Express.

Thank you to the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl organizers and to all the fans. Enjoy the game.

TOM NORTON: Chief Powers.

CHIEF KEITH POWERS: Good morning. Just wanted to go over a few things that we'll be assisting in this game.

We'll have over 60 personnel that will be working inside and outside the stadium on game day. We work together with the folks you see sitting at this table to develop a unified command system, make sure we provide a safe experience for those fans visiting this great city.

In addition to the personnel I already talked about, there will be four fully staffed med rooms within the stadium, 12 med teams working inside the stadium. Should there be a need for that, reach out to a JSO officer.

There will be two mobile bike teams that will be maneuvering around outside the stadium to help with any issues that we have outside the stadium. There will be two of the many rescue staged at advantageous locations outside the stadium that can transport folks if need be.

There will be one med team, two bike teams, and one of those rescues that will be at FanFest. Once FanFest is completed, they will be moved over to the stadium.

Lastly we'll have two designated rescues that are assigned to the stadium should they be needed.

I'll say this. If you need any help, look for the men and women in blue, JSO or JFRD, get their attention, they'll be glad to get whatever help you need. They're here to make sure that the fans that are here from out of town have a safe and fun experience at this great game.

TOM NORTON: Any questions?

Q. Greg, can you speak a little bit to the demand from South Carolina side of things as far as tickets, where you are as far as numbers.

GREG McGARITY: First of all, it's been incredible. I think Coach Tanner and his staff have been remarkable. Lance, their ticket manager, may be the MVP. They've moved a significant amount of tickets.

We're expecting around maybe 65,000 tomorrow. A little less than capacity, but I think the vast majority will be South Carolina fans.

We know how many tickets went through the South Carolina ticket office. There's a vast number that also went through the other market as well. We don't know the percentage, but we think South Carolina will probably have the edge as far as attendance-wise.

Both fan bases have been excellent in responding. It's just going to be a great event. So proud to have both schools here.

Q. Greg, have you heard whether Notre Dame fans have had any particular difficulty getting here because of weather, airline situations?

GREG McGARITY: We have not. We've had no notifications of individuals having trouble arriving. So no, we have not had any travel issues at this point.

Q. Chief Burns, the traffic situation, Florida-Georgia fans have been coming here for years, know the lay of the land. Jaguar fans know the traffic pattern. You have a fan base who hasn't been here since 2003 and the other 1987. Is it incumbent on local fans to have some patience if somebody needs to ask you directions in the middle of an intersection...

CHIEF ELLIS BURNS: Yes, that's an excellent point. Glad you asked it.

We're asking for everyone obviously to be patient. We've all mentioned here a lot of out-of-towners here. We're asking people to be patient, follow directions of the parking lot attendants, officers. They will be all over the stadium footprint to help.

We're pushing customer service on our side as well, making sure everybody is patient, making sure we have the information to give people, so we can give them good information, keep traffic flowing.

Q. Mike, Florida-Georgia, always a sellout, Jaguars-Dallas, a sellout. This game pretty close. Next Sunday probably going to be a sellout with Jaguars and Tennessee, then if they win a playoff game. A lot of work. Has this been a fun situation for ASM Global to see this many events with a full stadium?

MIKE KENNY: Yeah, absolutely. It's been a heck of a year. I was talking to Greg just the other day, making sure that the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl staff knows that we're fully ready and prepared. I think I even said specifically that we shine the brightest when the lights are on. I mean that wholeheartedly. The weather is also going to be great, which is good. We've been fortunate enough for that all season long.

Don't forget about Jackson State University was another huge event for us that happened just before Florida-Georgia. A great year for Jacksonville and TIAA Bank Field.

TOM NORTON: Thank you. We'll see everybody tomorrow at 3:30 for kickoff.