No. 11 Virginia Tech, Tennessee Give Chick-fil-A Bowl 13th Straight Sellout
Chick-fil-A Bowl continues nation’s third-longest Bowl sellout streak.
ATLANTA (Dec. 23, 2009) – The number 13 does not appear to be unlucky for Atlanta’s Chick-fil-A Bowl. Officials announced today that the Dec. 31 match-up between No. 11 Virginia Tech and Tennessee has sold out – giving the Bowl its 13th consecutive sellout. The Chick-fil-A Bowl’s string of capacity crowds is the third-longest among all bowls in the country behind only the Rose and Fiesta Bowls.
Both Virginia Tech and Tennessee purchased their full ticket allotments from the Bowl following their bowl selections Dec. 6 and local and regional buyers purchased the remaining tickets through the Chick-fil-A Bowl office.
Each year, the Chick-fil-A Bowl sells more than 35,000 tickets in the Atlanta market. In 2009, the Bowl set a record by having 92% of its ticket holders renew their ticket package purchases.
“We really feel very fortunate to have a match-up of this caliber with two great universities and fan bases that express this level of support, even in a challenging economy,” said Gary Stokan, Chick-fil-A Bowl president and CEO. “We’re thankful for the great partnerships we have with the ACC and SEC and their member schools and the outstanding support we get each year from local Atlanta fans who continue to embrace us.”
The Chick-fil-A Bowl is among the highest-attended non-BCS games in the nation with more than 2.3 million fans having attended Atlanta’s bowl game over the last 41 years.
The 2009 Chick-fil-A Bowl will be played Dec. 31 at 7:30 p.m. (EST) and will be nationally televised by ESPN running unopposed in its time slot.
The Chick-fil-A Bowl is the ninth-oldest bowl game in the country and hosts the longest-running rivalry series between the ACC and SEC. Now in its 42nd year, the Chick-fil-A Bowl has established itself as one of the nation’s elite bowl games with a string of 13 consecutive sellouts and has earned a reputation as one of the most competitive bowls in the nation. Ten of the last 17 games have been decided by a touchdown or less. The Chick-fil-A Bowl has disbursed more than $90 million in team payouts over its 41-year history and has increased team payout every year since 1996. The Bowl also leads all other bowl games in charitable and scholarship contributions, giving more than $1.2 million to organizations in need in 2009. Other events under the Chick-fil-A Bowl brand include the Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge head coach and celebrity golf event each April and the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game season-opening game over Labor Day weekend which hosted two top-10 teams, Alabama and Virginia Tech, to open the season.