The 2023 HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl will be played at an alternate location, ESPN Events announced on Thursday.
The game, which is currently scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, is being relocated due to ongoing renovations at Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas.
Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 15,000, was gifted to The Bahamas by the Peoples Republic of China and was dedicated on Feb. 25, 2012.
“Specific bowl plans will be announced in the coming weeks, and we look forward to the bowl returning to the Bahamas next year,” ESPN Events Vice President Clint Overby said in a statement.
The 2023 Bahamas Bowl is slated to feature teams from Conference USA and the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The game is slated to kickoff at 11:00am ET with television coverage on ESPN.
Provided that the date of the Bahamas Bowl is not changed, the contest will be the first of the 2023-24 bowl schedule. Six additional contests are slated to be played on the first date of bowl season, Saturday, Dec. 16.
College Football Playoff Semifinals this season are set for the Rose Bowl Game and the Allstate Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day, Monday, Jan. 1, 2024.
Bowl season will wrap up on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024 when the two semifinal winners meet in the College Football Playoff National Championship at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
College Football Bowl Schedule
Considering the teams likely to be involved, something like Birmingham’s Progressive Field makes sense geographically…
agree, have it in the SE USA.
What did China get in exchange for the bowl stadium?
Play it in Cancun. You’ll get to keep the tropical vibes, and the attendance probably wouldn’t be any worse than it already was in Nassau.
Passports with Mexico, could be an issue… Bowl teams are picked with no lead time compared to regular season international games… half a G5 team’s players would need emergency passports to get to Cancun… Bahamas are a lot simpler.
You need a passport to get into the Bahamas as well, so that would be about the same.
There’s going to be a Hometown Lenders Bowl, but no Hometown Lenders… love it.
The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis is in need of a football game!
Hold the game at FIU’s stadium in Miami. It’s a relatively new & nice stadium, and it’s close enough to the Bahamas that the teams can take a 1-2 day pre-bowl trip for some festivities if they desire.