GETTING READY FOR SUPERBOWL - TWO YEARS IN ADVANCE.
A TAMPAGOLD.COM Exclusive Interview with Deborah Wardrop
Tampa will again host the Super Bowl in 2009. There is a lot of planning that goes into to getting selected and to getting ready for the event. This takes more that just picking up a few beers and having a few pizzas delivered. With Phoneix being the designated city for SuperBowl in 2008, we thought we should give you a real idea of what it is like to plan for such an event.
TAMPAGOLD.COM editor Bill Sharpe telephone interviewed Deborah Wardrop as she was about to depart Arizona for the game in Detroit. With over 10,000 volunteers required, over $1 Million to be raised, and taking care of around 100,000 football fans; there is a lot to get done in time for the big game.
Our audio interview lasts about 20 minutes and includes some important information about why a city is selected, what is expected of the community, how to get everyone involved, and what short term/long term objectives does Arizona have from investing so much into the event. She also comments on Gasparilla and other Florida/Tampa issues. We hope you will take the time to listen to the entire interview, but we have marked several key points along the way to save you some time and to be able to take you to your specific interest areas.
Interview with Deborah Wardrop(click the play button to begin)
3:34 OBLIGATIONS OF THE HOST COMMITTEE
6:06 WHY WAS PHOENIX SELECTED?
7:07 HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL THE SUPERBOWL BRING TO ARIZONA?
11:43 PREPARATION IN PHOENIX
13:20 GROWTH AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IN ARIZONA
15:19 HOW CAN TAMPA IMPROVE? AND, GASPARILLA ON SUPERBOWL WEEKEND?
17:11 NO BEER AT GASPARILLA - DISCUSSING CAPTAIN MORGAN SPONSORSHIP.
17:53 WHAT ABOUT TICKETS FOR THE GAME?
Deborah Wardrop is the President and CEO for the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee for Super Bowl XLII.
Wardrop served as the Director of Special Events - Corporate Services for the NFL from 1999 through April 2005. In this role, her responsibilities included planning, designing, marketing and execution of Corporate Hospitality Village & Stadium Club on Super Bowl Sunday (encompasses private parties for 8-10,000 corporate guests for Fortune 500 companies). Wardrop was also a panel speaker for the Small & Emerging Business workshop annually, a guest speaker at various colleges in Super Bowl communities and was responsible for aspects of other NFL annual events including the NFL Draft, Owner's Meeting, Expansion Draft, Technical Directors Meeting, Hall of Fame Reunions and special assignments. She was in Tampa during our last hosted Super Bowl in her capacity as Director of Special Events for the NFL.
