Florida Citrus Sports

Last week we hosted one of our most popular annual events — Feast on the 50 presented by SouthState Bank — at Camping World Stadium. Thank you to all the food and beverage vendors, local alumni chapters and local partners who participated this year. Additionally, thank you to everyone who donated and bid on items for our silent auction and raffle, which benefits K-8 educational efforts in The Communities of the West Lakes. We are thrilled to share that we reached our goal and raised more than $50,000 at this year’s event. Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate college football; we can’t wait to do it again next fall!

Florida Citrus Sports will be well represented at this year’s SPORTYS hosted by the Greater Orlando Sports Commission, which will air on WKMG News 6 on Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. Congratulations to our finalists: ▪️Best in Media, Communications & PR: Sam Gardner ▪️Best in Corporate Partnerships: Gabe Park ▪️Best in Business Operations: Nick Stepp ▪️Best in Gameday & Team Operations: Chrissy Elliott and Kimberly Bruno ▪️Best in Marketing: Danielle Hounshell ▪️Sponsorship Activation of the Year: Pop-Tarts Bowl ▪️Executive of the Year: Steve Hogan and Ricardo Villar

Soon after our Monday morning announcement to reschedule Feast on the 50, the projected impact of Hurricane Milton grew significantly. Camping World Stadium has been deployed as an aid distribution site for Orange County and a Hurricane Warning is now in effect for our region. We want to allow more time for our venue — and our community — to deal with the storm. Therefore, we have postponed Feast on the 50 further. The event will now take place on Wednesday, October 23. We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion caused by the additional change. We hope you will still be able to join us in two weeks. All existing tickets will still be honored on the new date.

Had a great time hearing from some talented and hard working women in sports including our own Events Coordinator Tara Staley at Thursday’s Women in Sports Events Seminar. The panel provided valuable insight for industry veterans and those looking to embark in a career in sports events alike.

Florida Citrus Sports is thrilled to welcome Big Dave's Cheesesteaks to Camping World Stadium this fall, as the award-winning purveyor of authentic Philadelphia-style cheesesteaks brings its renowned flavors to sports and entertainment enthusiasts at the 65,000-seat stadium in the heart of Downtown Orlando. Big Dave’s will debut its two concession stands at Camping World Stadium—a historic venue owned and operated by the City of Orlando—on Nov. 18, as P!NK takes the stage for a highly anticipated concert, and will also be featured at all subsequent events in the venue, including the Florida Blue Florida Classic (Nov. 23), the Pop-Tarts Bowl (Dec. 28), the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl (Dec. 31) and the NFL Pro Bowl Games (Feb. 2, 2025). READ MORE: https://lnkd.in/eMijdHtv

Over the weekend, Jones High School hosted their second game of the season at Camping World Stadium. The Tigers, ranked No. 1 in the Orlando Sentinel’s Super 16 Coaches Poll, hosted rival No. 5 Edgewater High School. Fans of both schools flocked to the stadium in the heart of The West Lakes Communities to see this huge high school matchup. The Tigers jumped out to an early three-touchdown lead, ultimately cruising to a 31-21 victory. The win moves them to a perfect 3-0 on the year. It was a great game, but we hope it provided an amazing experience for both teams, as these young student athletes were able to play in the same stadium that hosts the NFL Pro Bowl Games and a plethora of college football games, international soccer matches and more throughout the year.

Following last week's 'boneyard' win for NIU Athletics over No. 5 Notre Dame, the Football Writers Association of America named the Huskies the Cheez-It National Team of the Week. We were grateful for NIU head coach Thomas Hammock making some time during their bye week to speak with Sam Gardner ahead of our first Team Selection Committee meeting of the season. Coach Hammock spoke about what the win meant for the program and himself. You can watch the full interview on our YouTube channel at youtu.be/Fwa21rLjK_o.

Our Team Selection Committee kicks into high gear this weekend with 10 games on our slate starting with a Top 20 matchup tonight between our defending Pop-Tarts Bowl Champions, No. 14 Kansas State, and No. 20 Arizona in Manhattan, Kansas. Members of our Team Selection Committee are on the road all season long representing our organization and helping to establish meaningful relationships with our participating institutions, league officials, fans and media. To learn more about our Team Selection Committee, as well as other committees and membership benefits, visit https://lnkd.in/gZUujFuS.

Feast on the 50 presented by SouthState Bank—one of our longest-running and most unique events—returns to Camping World Stadium next month, on Thursday, October 10. If you are a fan of college football, food and fun, this is the event for you! Attendees will enjoy unlimited food and drink from local restaurants, bars and vendors and celebrate football's return. Local alumni chapters from our partner conference schools as well as B-CU, FAMU, Rollins and USF will compete for the most spirited tailgate in our Official Alumni Village presented by Greater Orlando Aviation Authority: Orlando International (MCO) and Executive (ORL) Airports. The event features fun for fans of all ages in the Kids’ Zone presented by Fun Spot America Theme Parks, complete with inflatable games, face painting and other exciting activities! The evening concludes with an unforgettable fireworks show that will dazzle the masses. The evening also features an entirely mobile silent auction. The auction contains a variety of experiences, exclusive sports memorabilia and other fantastic items available for bidding using the OneCause app. All proceeds from the silent auction benefit K-8 educational efforts within The Communities of the West Lakes near Camping World Stadium. Tickets to this one-of-a-kind event are included in Florida Citrus Sports membership packages, only $40 for non-members, and kids 10 & under are free! Learn more and pick up your tickets at https://lnkd.in/ek3YHC4a.

We had a great time catching up with our volunteers at our season's kickoff party last Thursday evening. Words can't describe how grateful we are for the dedicated individuals who help us orchestrate our growing list of events year-round. You can view more pictures from the evening on our website at https://lnkd.in/eQ-mP9_H.   If you'd like to learn more about our upcoming volunteer opportunities or sign up for a shift at an upcoming event, you can do so at https://lnkd.in/exBM_h8s.