Orlando City starts rebuilding
Lions have made several roster moves, with more coming as they look to 2019.
Bowl season has officially hit Orlando.
The Tulane Green Wave and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns land in Central Florida today, kicking off a busy bowl season.
The two teams will face off at Camping World Stadium during the AutoNation Cure Bowl at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, the first contest during the opening day of college football postseason games. The game between the Green Wave (6-6) and Ragin’ Cajuns (7-6) will air on CBS Sports Network.
What follows is a heavy dose of bowls running through early January.
Florida Citrus Sports hosts two of the three games played at Camping World Stadium, landing four top-20 teams.
No. 16 West Virginia (8-3) will play No. 20 Syracuse (9-3) in the Camping World Bowl at 5:15 p.m. on Dec. 28. The game will air on ESPN.
No. 14 Kentucky (9-3) faces No. 12 Penn State (9-3) in the VRBO Citrus Bowl at 1 p.m. Jan. 1. The game will air on ABC.
Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan is delighted with the matchups and the frenzy that goes with bowl season.
“This is my favorite time of year, obviously,” he said. “Getting top-20 teams is what you’re shooting for and so to get four of them this year is wonderful. To get two of them to be excited on the way up — Syracuse having a special season and Kentucky looking to put a stamp on its season — really makes it fun. It’s going to be a special year.”
Fans have made it clear they’re happy to follow their teams to Or-
lando.
The day after bowl matchups were unveiled, the Florida Citrus Sports website couldn’t keep up with the demand on its ticket sales page and briefly had to ask fans to visit Ticketmaster directly to purchase tickets.
“Every team is excited. And West Virginia, of all the Big 12 teams, is a team that can get to us,” Hogan said. “They know Orlando, in some cases can drive here, so all that is a recipe for success. So when you look at the totality of all four teams, there’s a lot of excitement.
“Now, will it be a sellout on New Year’s Day? That remains to be seen, but we’re hopeful.”
Camping World Stadium will have one new amenity to offer fans during bowl season.
Popular local barbecue restaurant 4 Rivers Smokehouse has opened a concession stand on the stadium concourse.
It’s part of a movement to bring more local businesses into the stadium.
Owner John Rivers first began his barbecue career when he offered to help an ill child cope with medical expenses by hosting a barbecue at their church. The food was wildly popular and the start of a sprawling restaurant and catering business.
“John is a special guy and 4 Rivers is an Orlando brand,” Hogan said. “It makes it extra special that he’s an Orlando guy who started this business as a ministry out of his garage. He’s part of the Orlando community and we want to show that off.
“I want to see Camping World Stadium and all of us here in sports starting to partner with local brands. You go to some of the biggest stadiums across the country — Atlanta has done a great job of this — you see local purveyors in their sports stadium. I want to see that in Camping World Stadium. And John was one of the first to raise his hands and make it happen.”