Looks like it probably will be Jacksonville...

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GREENSBORO, N.C. - The ACC football championship game's first stop might be a longer layover than originally expected.

ACC Commissioner John Swofford said Tuesday that the game could remain at its initial site for up to four years - a guaranteed two-year run, plus a league-owned option for the next two. While a selection derby apparently headed by Jacksonville, Fla., won't conclude until late August or early September, the possibility of a four-year deal suggests the process is moving forward. Before Tuesday, league officials were more cautious in predicting the length of the initial relationship between the ACC and its title-game host.

"The thing we want to make certain is that we're going to a venue and a city that will truly wrap its arms around the game and make it successful," Swofford said.

The multiyear decision will be widely interpreted as another sign that the Gator Bowl Association in Jacksonville is the front-runner. If the ACC is going to set up shop for the long term, it may prefer to do so in a climate with reasonably predictable and warm weather over a place such as Charlotte.

Other cities that have submitted proposals are: Tampa, Fla.; Miami; Orlando, Fla.; Baltimore; and Washington, D.C.-Landover, Md. They have another six days to revise their bids per the conference's request.

Jeff Elliott, the ACC's chief financial officer and the point man for the site-selection process, said the filing of new paperwork is a formality designed to streamline the process and give a four-person subcommittee an easier time in "comparing apples to apples."

"We've been very pleased with the proposals," Swofford said. "It's almost a case of trying to make the best decision. I don't think we can make a bad decision."

The inaugural game is set for Saturday, Dec.3, 2005, and will be televised by ABC. Under NCAA rules, the league can't conduct a title game until it gets its 12th member, which will happen when Boston College joins July 1, 2005.

The Gator Bowl would probably be willing to give up its top draft position in the post-BCS selection process to the Peach if it gets the league title game. That would prevent the threat of having the same team in Jacksonville twice in a span of four weeks.

Jacksonville's bid has been boosted in recent weeks by the completion of a $15 million hospitality pavilion at one end of Alltel Stadium. The project was created for the Super Bowl, which will be played there in 2005.