NAIA Host Committee Meets

April 22, 2008 - The Host Committee for the NAIA National Championship Football Games met Tuesday evening at River City Bank in Rome. The group is continuing with planning for the 2008 championship, which will be held Dec. 20 at Barron Stadium in downtown Rome.

"From now on, things will ramp up pretty remarkably," Host Committee co-chair Bob Berry told the group regarding planning for the championship event. The meeting included updates from subcommittees. Among those items discussed were the following:

• Hospitality Committee co-chair Linda Smith announced that Ann Arnold of the Downtown Development Authority has agreed to coordinate volunteers for the championship-related events. Ms. Arnold has previous experience coordinating volunteers for the Tour de Georgia and will be added as a member of the NAIA Host Committee.
  
  
• Host Committee Co-Chair Bill Peterson (Shorter's athletic director) updated the committee on planned improvements to Barron Stadium. The work, which is already underway, includes laser-grading the field, installing new grass and painting much of the stadium. Plans continue to develop for improvements to the press box. "We are confident that Barron Stadium will be perfect for the NAIA," Peterson said. "Equally important is the fact that we can deliver a sell out crowd and have a full house for game day."
  
  
• Roger Smith reported that the Sponsorship Committee has been working on valuing different levels of support for the game. The group should have a completed "title sponsor" proposal available within the next few weeks.
  
  
• Governmental and Legal Affairs Committee Chair Andy Davis reported that work is nearly complete on establishing a separate non-profit organization for operation of the NAIA football championship in Rome. Details will follow as the legal process is completed.
  
  
• Other items discussed centered around transportation, game-day operations and promotion of the event.
  

For additional information on the NAIA National Football Championship plans, please visit www.naianationalchampionship.com.