South Florida navigated COVID for two major sports events. Let’s build on that success | Opinion

During the pandemic, South Florida has been one of the nation’s most desirable locales — whether for the migration of the finance and tech industries or eager vacationers enjoying our sunny shores. This is a credit to the way our region has adapted and thrived in the face of unprecedented circumstances. As we continue our rebound, we can take valuable lessons from the many successes our community has achieved over the past two years.

For example, we saw championship level post-season football last January in Miami when the Orange Bowl Committee (OBC) successfully staged the 87th Capital One Orange Bowl and led the host committee efforts for the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship, both at spectacular Hard Rock Stadium.

These two national sporting events, while downsized to meet pandemic response requirements, demonstrate the impact successful major events can have, when taking an approach that follows health and safety guidelines.

Financial impact

Hosting approximately 30,000 fans generated more than 20,000 hotel nights and brought more than $40 million in direct spending to South Florida. The games also delivered a wall-to-wall commercial for Miami and the South Florida reaching over 26 million viewers, and there were no significant health issues thanks to extensive planning and vigilant observance of protocols.

Beyond the economic impact were the events’ positive community benefits, too. For instance, almost $3 million in renovations transformed 23 South Florida school media centers into technology-rich innovation spaces that will impact thousands of students for years to come.

While the start of a new football season has been met by fanfare and fervor with stadiums at full capacity, we cannot take for granted all that we went through as we continue to navigate the challenges of the pandemic. As a region, we must remain vigilant and flexible. This is not said as a platitude, but as foresight from an organization that has been instrumental in staging major community events for almost nine decades.

South Florida legacy

Since 1935, South Florida has become the top destination for hosting premier postseason college football games. Our ability to continue to build this legacy is based squarely on community collaboration and partnership to stage marquee events, and to always focus on what is best for South Florida.

It is this commitment that will we embrace when hosting the 2021 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl on Dec. 31 at Hard Rock Stadium. And it’s one that we will lean into even further as college football leadership considers future postseason models. We strongly believe this track record favorably positions the Orange Bowl and South Florida to maintain our tier-one bowl status in postseason college football and to host many more college football national championships in the years to come.

Likewise, as our region looks forward to a promising future of many major events, we must share the goal of having every event organizer, convention planner or leisure traveler conclude that South Florida knows how to provide its visitors a safe, comfortable and entertaining experience. As evidenced by our successes since last March, we know South Florida will continue to raise its game.

Jack Seiler is president and chair of the Orange Bowl Committee and a former Fort Lauderdale mayor.