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Jacksonville prepares for Florida/Georgia weekend

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Snoop Dogg (now known as Snoop Lion) will perform for a crowd of Gator fans and Bulldog fans at the Jacksonville Landing this weekend.

The annual Florida/Georgia game will begin at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Jacksonville.

The city is already buzzing, according to Kat Hardwick, director of marketing for the Downtown Jacksonville Improvement District.

"We work closely with Visit Jacksonville and the numbers that they're reporting in terms of hotels being booked are very high," she said. "We know there are lots of RVs that are already down in RV City, so I think it's going to be a really big weekend."

Hardwick said although almost all of the downtown hotels are booked, visitors do have options.

"I know that most of the downtown if not all of the downtown hotel rooms are booked out for the weekend," she said. "They have been booked for a while, but you know Jacksonville is a very large city so people stay in all parts of Jacksonville."

The city and businesses are ready to reap the benefits of the rush of consumers, Hardwick said, adding that the Jacksonville Landing has been preparing for its expected large crowds.

"The Jacksonville Landing is a huge venue for festivities," she said. "They show the game on their Jumbotron and then a lot their venues -- restaurants and nightlife within the Landing -- have social things going on."

Hardwick said there will be attractions other than the football game, including a Snoop Dogg concert.

Visit www.downtownjacksonville.org for more information.

Emily Miller edited this story online.

Shane is a reporter for WUFT News who may be contacted by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news @wuft.org