As many as 70,000 fans are expected to pack Houston’s Reliant Stadium for this year’s State Farm Bayou Classic and according to LeAmber R. Howell, manager of marketing and public relations for Bickerstaff Sports and Entertainment, at least $200 million could come to the Long Star State.
Last year’s Classic brought at least $125 million, monies generated from tourism, hotel, restaurants and ticket costs.
Title sponsor State Farm Insurance Company is responsible for the game’s airing cost on national television, along with paying Reliant Stadium in Houston and funding scholarships to both schools.
“It’s a great marriage between two really good brands,” said Bobby Wilkinson, manager of national sponsorships for State Farm. “State Farm and the State Farm Bayou Classic, which encompasses two great institutions like Grambling and Southern.”
Wilkinson said the company is in its 10th year as title sponsor. He said the event is more than just a football game.
“This (Bayou Classic) helps our brand reach African-American consumers,” he said.
Last year, each school was paid almost $900,000 from ticket sales. These monies were used for rooms and transportation for band members and the football teams.
As of Nov. 10, an estimated 29,000 tickets were purchased and the number goes up everyday, according to Ralph Slaughter, Ph.D., Bayou Classic coordinator at Southern. He said it usually takes committee members a year to plan the Classic and its ancillary events, but Hurricane Katrina made an unexpected change in plans.
“In less than two months, (planning) has gone beyond my expectations,” Slaughter said.
There were talks with officials to have the game in Baton Rouge, but Slaughter said LSU had a game planned for the Friday after Thanksgiving, when the battle of the bands and Greek show would be held. Shreveport was also a choice, but the city could only provide 1,000 hotel rooms.
In Houston, about 9,000 hotel rooms were available, which was around what the event needed.
“Houston was a great receiving area for the displaced,” Slaughter said. (It) was better than any other city in America. It was just another way to say ‘thank you.’ “