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Tampa lures all-star game

By FRANK PASTOR

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 17, 2001

TAMPA -- The Florida Athletic Coaches Association, along with the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, is working to bring the North vs. South all-star game to Tampa.

The game, in its 13th season, showcases the top high school players from around the state in a North vs. South format. It was known as the Florida Shrine Bowl when it was played in Jacksonville.

The game is run under the auspices of the FACA. Association president and Hillsborough coach Earl Garcia said he and director Wink Barnett approve of the move.

Finding a corporate sponsor is the biggest remaining obstacle.

"This event had a major sponsor (the Shriners) when it was in Jacksonville," sports commission president Bill Johnson said. "For it to happen here, one of those has to happen, too."

The game is tentatively scheduled for June 9 at Raymond James Stadium.

"For many years, it was the only game our kids had," Garcia said.

The game lost some of its luster after the Georgia/Florida all-star game and Califlorida Bowl were created. A couple of years ago, it moved from the Gator Bowl to Jacksonville Mandarin High. Johnson said Garcia approached him with the idea of bringing the game to Tampa following a Hillsborough County coaches meeting in the fall.

"What's special for us is to have a statewide event here that projects a lot of youth sports activity at a time when things aren't, I believe, that active in youth sports," Johnson said.

"Plus, kids have one more viewing before college opens in August, some perhaps still seeking to find a place to take their skills."

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