Covelli anticipates capacity crowd for watch party

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By JUSTIN WIER

jwier@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

A full house is expected for today’s Covelli Centre watch party for the FCS national championship game between Youngstown State University and James Madison University at noon.

Kelsey Klim, director of marketing and sales at JAC Management Group, said 4,000 tickets were spoken for when they halted advanced pickup Friday.

More free tickets will be available at the box office this morning until they hit capacity, which Klim said is between 5,500 and 6,000. Doors open at 10 a.m.

“Just with the advance ticket pickup of 4,000, we’re honestly expecting a capacity crowd,” Klim said. “We’re ready to rock tomorrow.”

The game will be broadcast on the screen the arena typically uses for hockey games. It will be flanked by two other LED screens, Klim said.

Taylor Phillips, a YSU graduate student, said she’s excited for the watch party. She attended Cavaliers and Indians watch parties in Cleveland during those respective title runs last year and hopes to see the same energy in Youngstown this afternoon.

“I’ve seen a lot of community support over the past few weeks, and I hope that those people show up,” she said.

R.J. Thompson, assistant professor in the university’s art department, will also be attending the Covelli party. He lives in Pittsburgh, but said he wants to be part of the Youngstown community celebrating success.

“It’s good to have a central point everyone can rally around,” Thompson said.

He’ll also promote the City of You campaign, a marketing/advertising strategy he developed for City Hall. City of You will share photos and video from the watch party on social media – and will share posts from three people attending the game in Frisco, Texas.

You can follow the action at cityofyou on Facebook and Twitter and thecityofyou on Instagram and Snapchat. They will also produce podcasts, which will appear on their social media feeds.

Attendees will be able to sit and watch the game from the stands, but there will also be tailgate games and beer trucks on the arena floor.

From 10 a.m. until noon there will be a Bloody Mary bar and a breakfast brunch. The brunch will cost $13. There will be specials on nachos at $4, pretzels at $3 and popcorn at $1. No outside food, beverages or coolers will be admitted.

The event is a collaboration between Covelli Enterprises, the city and YSU.

“They have underwritten the event, so it wouldn’t be possible without their generosity,” Klim said.