ORLANDO, Fla. — Preparations are underway to host thousands of fans coming together to witness the nation’s largest football game between two historically black colleges and universities, the Florida A&M Rattlers and the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats.
As the teams prepare to battle in the annual rivalry football game on Saturday, local businesses will benefit from crowds coming to town.
Orlando City Deli is a family-owned business located just a block away from Camping World Stadium.
Thousands of fans are already in Orlando for the Florida Blue Florida Classic weekend to witness the FAMU - BCU rivalry in the field and see who will take it home this year. Tune in to @MyNews13 at 5pm to hear about the economic impact this weekend has for local businesses. pic.twitter.com/o039TExEO5
— Massiel Leyva (@LeyvaMassiel) November 17, 2023
“We look forward to these events. We kind of plan these events out in the beginning of the year. So, we really look forward to when these events come to help us generate some more revenue throughout the year,” Eric, who asked to only be identified by his first name, runs the shop and says they prepare with extra supplies for the thousands of people in town for the Florida Blue Florida Classic game.
“We ordered extra food — extra ground beef, extra turkey — we kind of double up on all our inventory,” he said.
As they start getting busier today and all throughout the weekend, Eric welcomes more customers into the deli.
“A lot of them come in before the game, during the game and after the game," he said. "We get a lot of fans and customers and people just traveling around here on the OBT corridor."
Bethune-Cookman and FAMU kicked off the weekend with a luncheon Friday morning.
“We love the rivalry. It’s all fun and games. We talk a lot of trash with the classic, but we look forward to a great time on the field,” BCU’s director of recruitment Billy Dajuste said. “For our recruiters, what we do is that we have recruitment here in the Orlando area leading up to the football game. So, families are going to get to see the environment, the vibe of the entire sort of classic experience and see if they want to be a part of the family.”
Back at the deli, Eric said they expect to see a huge increase in earnings this weekend, as he has in past years.
“Almost like the triple or quadruple compared to any other weekend," he said. "Weekends are kind of standard, but when the events come, it’s pretty much a triple or quadruple amount of income that is coming in."
To help deal with the crowds, the Orlando Police Department is implementing some safety measures and parking enforcement. According to OPD, in an effort to prevent extraordinary traffic congestion, the area along Orange Blossom Trail from West Colonial Drive to State Road 408 will be designated as a “special event zone” through Monday, Nov. 20. These zones will be marked with signage stating, “Special Event Zone — All Fines Doubled.”
Kickoff is set for Saturday at 3:30 p.m.