Here’s how much money Horry County could spend to help promote Myrtle Beach Bowl

Coastal Carolina University is a year away from being the home of South Carolina’s only college football bowl game.

And Horry County is looking to help make the Myrtle Beach Bowl a success.

Horry County Council’s administration committee voted unanimously to recommend the county approve spending $40,000 of yearly state accommodations tax money to help promote the event for the next six years.

“I think it’s a great idea for Horry County,” committee chairman Johnny Vaught said.

Full council will have to approve the resolution in an upcoming meeting before money can be given to the promotion effort.

The State of South Carolina requires local governments use 30 percent of revenue from the accommodation tax to help with promoting outsiders to visit the area. Locally, the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce is in charge of using this revenue to attract visitors to the Grand Strand.

In the agreement Horry County has with the chamber, 5 percent of these monies are reserved for council-directed, tourist-related, promotional projects. Right now the county has about $80,000 on hand to use for these projects, according to its documents.

The committee heard from Jimmy Gray and Johnathan Paris with the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce about why investing in the bowl game counts as promoting tourism in the county.

Paris said ESPN became interested in a Grand Strand event after the success of the first Myrtle Beach Invitational basketball tournament starting in 2018.

Depending on how the TV schedule falls, the first bowl game will be held somewhere between Dec. 19 and Dec. 24, 2020. The game will be played here at least six seasons.

Paris thanked CCU for the expansion of Brooks Stadium that made it suitable for an ESPN bowl game.

While the bowl will be held in Conway, the game is being called the Myrtle Beach Bowl. Gray said there might be a corporate sponsor who’s name will be associated with the it, but that won’t be decided until later in the process.

Teams from the Sun Belt Conference, Mid-American Conference and Conference USA will be eligible to play in the bowl.

Getting invited to a bowl game is a reward for a good season, so the players coming to the area will be looking to engage with the community while in town, Paris said.

He added the team’s coaching staff, families, marching bands and fans will all be coming to the Grand Strand for the game and to support local businesses.

“The time of the year couldn’t be better for our hospitality community,” Paris said.

Council member Gary Loftus asked if the City of Myrtle Beach had contributed to the promotion of the bowl game, and Gray said it had not yet but that his organization is working to get the city involved.

“Surprise, surprise,” Loftus said.

This story was originally published September 24, 2019 at 4:34 PM.