Inaugural Jax tourney next season.

That is really neat and happy to see somewhere in Florida trying to promote college baseball. I was thinking Disney would have put something together by now but hopefully the Jax market will get behind it and show up. Glad they got some decent teams but doubtful they have many fans that live in the Duval area. Jax needs a local theme park, more than a zoo, or some nighttime entertainment planned that weekend to give any fans something else to do.

 

Seems there was a Tampa tournament like this, maybe a couple of them south of I-4. Northern teams coming for decent weather. I don't see Gators playing without a big payout. They can host a cold weather team and get 4k+ in the stands with no bus ride. That probably is the week they play Miami which would be flexible, but it would mean two away weekends at a time they want to be playing home games.

I'd prefer that they host a round robin weekend with the same sort of visitors. I always go to the non-Gator games at Regionals and I'd buy extra tix to do the same for this arrangement.

 

Why not a Gator Invitational. Youi could go all Florida teams or host Several Northern teams

 

A tourney in Gvl probably would do well with a group of northern teams, maybe one FL team in the mix. UF and most FL teams want early games on their regular schedule of three on the weekend, plus a Tuesday, a Wednesday or both. It's the cold weather programs that want to spend spring break in FL and play as many games as they can. They also like to be close to a beach, so GVL can't match Ft Myers or Ft Pierce in that category, but the facilities here are pretty good.

 

@wingtee might go just to support the SEC.

Go GATORS!
,WESGATORS

 

I don't love the SEC that much. I might go just to see good baseball, but I'd never miss a Gator game. That might be Gators at scUM weekend, but I also wouldn't miss seeing the Gators on TV/streaming.

 

I think that opposing team coaches from northern schools would love to play the Gators and keep their players as far from the beach as possible.

Fort Myers Beach kind of sucks. I used to go there as a kid in the mid-60's and I think that it has gone down hill from there. The fishing used to be great in Estero Bay and at Big Carlos Pass. I used to fish there before the bridge was built in a rented boat and then for a few years after the bridge was built. And the snook fishing at the drawbridge from the mainland near the north end of the island was awesome but that drawbridge is LONG gone.

Ft Myers Beach isn't what college basketball players want.

Maybe South Beach.

 

Hey, I lived near that drawbridge the first couple years of my life. At least that's what the pictures showed.
Growing up in FM, the beach always seemed a bit seedy to me. As a tourist we always skipped FMB in favor of Sanibel.
Of course after Ian blew everything away, the rebuild will make the whole area totally different.
Not much in FM for college kids IMO, unless they just like to fish.

 

FL people are spoiled by great beaches. I really have no clue about FM in particular, but for guys who just flew in from Ohio or Michigan in February, I'll bet the pool at a Days Inn is great and any FL beach at all is heaven.

 

For us it’s Mexico Beach, Cape San Blas, Destin, or don’t bother.

 

I’ve never seen a bigger , dead city than Jax . Always been that way . I guess the Landing was ok but that’s all gone too .

 

LOL! Great choices. Like I said spoiled by great beaches.

 

Yeah, I think some on here (even our resident transplants) are being a bit critical of what most of these northern kids might find attractive. For example, I remember back in '96 while in Tempe for the Nat'l Champ. game, leaving my hotel room around noontime to pick up some food, only to see the entire OSU volleyball team laying out by the pool. It was in the 50's. The sun was bright and the air was dry, but come on. 50's?

 

I remember going to Sanibel on the ferry and there was very little on the island. Mostly it was a few houses looking out over the Gulf across the road about halfway up to Captiva.

One time after the bridge was built we went fishing off of a short pier in the Ding Darling bird sanctuary and the Spanish mackerel were running. You could just throw a bare hook out there and get a strike every time. Trust me, I did that for few hours giving fish away because we could never prepare and eat everything we caught. I have never run into anything like that again.

 

Mexico Beach got flattened not long ago. Before that it was a reminder of what Florida beach towns were a long time ago.

I find Destin a bit too snooty for my taste. Ft Walton Beach is more my style.

Big Talbot Island has a nice beach and every time I have been there it was pretty empty.

 

Interesting, we were there also. Great trip except for the game. Drove up to the Canyon stopping in Flagstaff and my son saw snow for the first time. Hit up Sedona also.

 

Actually Cape San Blas has always been our favorite spot. In the early ‘70’s Mexico Beach was very similar to the Cape. You could shoot a cannon down the beach and wouldn’t hit anything…..