JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A decade after hosting the 39th Super Bowl, the city of Jacksonville says it still reaping benefits from the big event.
The Florida Time-Union (http://bit.ly/1Ki3d27 ) reports that the 2005 Super Bowl raised the city profile, prompted investments in improvements to the football stadium and to the downtown corridor.
Former Mayor John Peyton says the successful Super Bowl proved that Jacksonville could handle such a major event. But Peyton and others told the newspaper that the economic downturn, which started in 2007, hurt momentum built by the city's Super Bowl experience. City leaders also say they wish they had done more to promote the region to the outside world during the 2005 Super Bowl that was watched by 93 million viewers worldwide.
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Information from: The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union, http://www.jacksonville.com
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