Image courtesy of SEC
SEC Media Days Atlanta 2018 logo
The Southeastern Conference Football Media Days event is leaving Hoover and moving to Atlanta in 2018, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey announced this afternoon.
However, the Football Media Days event, which draws media from across the country and a horde of SEC fans, will be back at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham — The Wynfrey Hotel in 2019, Sankey said.
Beyond that year, the event likely will be held in various locations while making Hoover a periodic site because of its central location in the SEC footprint, Sankey said.
For 2018, the SEC chose to hold its Football Media Days at the College Football Hall of Fame on July 16-19.
"SEC Football Media Days is a signature event for our conference, and we are pleased the city of Atlanta will host this kickoff to the 2018 college football season," Sankey said in a news release. "SEC Football Media Days is now added to Atlanta's inventory of great events, which includes the annual SEC football championship game and this season's College Football Playoff championship game. We are looking forward to building an exciting week next July to feature our student-athletes and coaches."
The 2018 event will mark the first time the SEC Football Media Days will be held outside the Birmingham-Hoover metro area since 1985.
Photo courtesy of the SEC
SEC Media Days in Hoover
The SEC logo and current slogan adorns the outside of the Hyatt Regency Birmingham — The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Alabama for the 2017 SEC Football Media Days in July 2017.
It has been at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham — The Wynfrey Hotel since 2001 and was held at the Sheraton in downtown Birmingham before that, said Paul Dangel, director of sales and marketing for the Hyatt Regency.
Dangel said Hyatt Regency officials have known for some time the event was moving to Atlanta in 2018.
“We’d love to have them every year, but we understand they need to explore options and see what the other markets have to offer,” Dangel said. “We are excited they’re going to come back to us in ’19.”
William Pate, president and CEO of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, said in a press release that Atlanta's position as the capital of college football is reinforced by the number of high-profile events the city hosts annually, including the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, ESPN College Football Awards Show and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
“SEC Football Media Days is a wonderful addition to the portfolio," Pate said "We look forward to hosting this event and providing increased visibility for both the destination and Southeastern Conference."
During the four-day SEC Media Days event, the Hall of Fame will be home to the coaches' primary press conferences and serve as the live broadcast headquarters for both ESPN and the SEC Network. The Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center, which is connected to the Hall of Fame, is the host hotel for the event and will house Radio Row and other media interviews and activities.
Dennis Adamovich, CEO of the College Football Hall of Fame, said the hall was relocated to Atlanta for events just like this. "We are perfectly situated in the center of all the activity," Adamovich said. "We are grateful to the SEC for allowing us the opportunity to host such an important event."