Visiting Fans Enjoy Bahamas Bowl

Hundreds of fans of the University of Alabama, Birmingham (UAB) Blazers and the Ohio University Bobcats couldn’t hide their excitement as they attended the fourth annual Bahamas Bowl on December 22.

 The game, which was held at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium, saw fans from all walks of life who escaped the cold to cheer on their favorite team.

 Fans not only came by plane but some even caught cruises to be a part of the highly anticipated faceoff.

 Coming from frigid temperatures, many of them were excited to enjoy the 80 degree weather in Nassau.

 Ohio fan Stepahnie Sczpanski was one of them.

 “We went to Atlantis and we stayed a few extra days just because of the environment and we got to enjoy the sunshine, the water and the beaches,” she said.

 Alex Deck, an Ohio fan, had never been to a bowl game and was very excited when she learned it was in The Bahamas.

“I immediately wanted to find a way to fly down here and with Christmas being right around the corner, it usually snows in Ohio but it is absolutely beautiful here,” she said.

“We stayed at Atlantis and it was incredible the whole time – the people we’ve met, going to the beach every single day and seeing the marine life. It has been absolutely incredible. I would love to come back to The Bahamas. I highly recommend it." 

Ashley Jordan from Alabama said this is a December she won’t forget.

“I keep forgetting that it is December and that Christmas is coming up. We were so excited that our team got to come here and to be a part of the Bahamas Bowl and we’re just really happy to be here supporting them,” she said.

“I’m definitely coming back. It’s been awesome.”

Yvette Sighn, another UAB fan, said he soaked up all the culture of The Bahamas.

“I’ve definitely tasted the local cuisine, the local brews, the water is crystal clear here. This is my 68th country but I definitely think make a U-turn here,” he said.

While organizers are still waiting for the official numbers from this year's event, it is expected than there was a significant increase in the number of persons who travelled to Nassau this year to enjoy the Bahamas Bowl. 

"The impact of the Bahamas Bowl on our local economy is far reaching. The great appeal of holding international sporting events in our destination is that sports teams travel with huge contingents comprised of event organizers, coaches, managers, family members and fans, and in this case the global media power house, ESPN,” said Parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Tourism Travis Robinson.

“We have seen the number of persons who travel along with the teams continue to grow.  Last year approximately 1,865 persons visited directly related to the game, resulting in 2,300 room nights and injecting approximately $3.5 million into the economy."

Director of Sales and Marketing Lea Miller said this was the largest delegation to ever travel for the Bowl.

 “The advertising value of this is in the tens of millions of dollars. This is the highest rated live sport in the history of this country – over Battle of Atlantis, over the Hero World Challenge, over the LPGA Silk Golf Tournament and the IAAF World Relays. So what that does for the exposure – it’s over 10 million households and so we have gauged it in the tens of millions of dollars,” she said.

 “Everything is starting to grow and we really couldn’t be any more excited.” 

 In the end, the Ohio University Bobcats were victorious over UAB with a score of 41 to 6.

Bahamas Bowl is expected to be hosted at the Thomas A. Robinson in December 2018.