Superfest success in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Seventy-five thousand fans packed EverBank Field earlier this month for the Florida Country Superfest.  It was two days full of big acts, big crowds

and big money being spent in Jacksonville.

"Wow, that was a huge impact for our hotel. Probably our second largest weekend next to Florida-Georgia," said Michael Islava with the Omni Hotel.  He said they were slammed  that weekend.
Numbers obtained by Action News from the city of Jacksonville back that up. 
On June 14, hotel occupancy rates were up 91 percent from the same weekend in 2013.  They were up 80 percent June 15.  That translated into more than $2.7 million in hotel revenue alone.

"Which is phenomenal for our tourism industry here in Jacksonville," said Joel Lamp with the city's Sports and Entertainment Office.

Lamp said it's phenomenal for the city, too.  It gets a cut.

"The mayor's vision is to make Jacksonville a sports and entertainment destination," he said. "We want more of those events where people are circling their calendars and saying I need to plan my vacation around that."

Action News asked Lamp if the success of the Superfest would lead to more musical acts performing at the stadium.

"We're working on that as we speak," he replied.

Islava would love to see it.

"The demand was there. These fans came from all over," he said.  "We're very happy to have them. And hopefully, have them back next year."

WJAX