Jacksonville loses a bid to bring the national college football championship games in 2016 and 2017 but city leaders say it won't stop them from making a future bid.
Alan Verlander, the city's executive director for sports and entertainment says the city gave it a good try but couldn't compete with Raymond James Stadium in Tampa or the amount of hotels and their proximity to the stadium.
"We just did not have enough hotel rooms."
He tells WOKV Tampa scored high on all of the criteria, including hotel accomodations. He says the city will try again in the future.
"Jacksonville's name is going to be celebrated as Tampa's and Arizona's was today."
He believes the stadium upgrades will help the city attract more large-scale events and college sporting events to the city.
"We know we're going to have brand new video boards and new opportunities at our stadium."
He says the city will also need to address the issues of hotel accomodations and the convention center in the near future.
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