The newly renamed Bitcoin Bowl is due to kick off December 26, with the UCF Knights playing North Carolina State—and ticket sales for the event have been unprecedented.
Cointelegraph reported back in June and October on the successful joint venture between BitPay and ESPN to reinvent the identity of the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, held annually in St. Petersburg, Florida, as the Bitcoin Bowl. With its refurbished website open for business, and tickets now publicly available, excitement is brewing among local media and fans alike.
Florida Today reported this week, however, that one of the teams involved in the opening game, UCF, sold out of its 6,000-strong ticket allotment earlier this week, 17 days before the team is due to play.
UCF's associate athletic director for external operations, Zack Lassiter, made the announcement via Twitter Tuesday evening:
We've sold through our initial allotment (6,000 tix) but have worked with the bowl staff to acquire additional tickets.
— Zack Lassiter (@ZackLassiter) December 10, 2014
Additional tickets were subsequently released and are available from UCFKights.com.
The event seeks to be the highlight and culmination of a significant campaign by BitPay to increase merchant adoption in the local area, with the goal of securing 100 new sign-ups in the week prior to the bowl kickoff.
Running in tandem with the bowl is increased activity in nearby Madeira Beach, which this week became the first municipality to formally embrace Bitcoin. Following a resolution passed at a town meeting, city manager Shane Crawford commented:
“The city of Madeira Beach is opening its arms to the global Bitcoin community. We want bitcoin users to know that they can pay for their entire vacation with bitcoin here.”
Madeira Beach is organizing a warm-up event ahead of the Bitcoin Bowl entitled the Pre-Bitcoin Bowl Beach Bash, at which the city will showcase the increased merchant base newly signed on by BitPay, along with a significant number of businesses already accepting Bitcoin.
“City of Madeira Beach is humbled by the opportunity to serve as the official Beach Bash host for the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl,” Crawford said in a press release confirming the decision. “We welcome the two teams, their alumni, family, and fans from around the country to our city and beautiful beaches.”
The teams involved in the opening match will also be present at the event.
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