Overview Capital One Orange Bowl Fan Fest is the free pregame tailgate outside Hard Rock Stadium for everyone holding a ticket to the game, and roughly half the game's crowd passes through it on the way to their seats. It opens on Fountain Plaza four hours before kickoff with a main-stage concert, the teams' bands and cheerleaders, food and beer, and a burger contest between the two teams' hometowns. The Orange Bowl Committee, a nonprofit with more than 410 volunteer members and a staff of 30, runs it alongside the game. The first Orange Bowl was played on January 1, 1935, and the game joined the College Football Playoff in 2014 as one of its semifinal and quarterfinal hosts. On site A country act usually headlines the stage. Lauren Alaina played before the January 2025 semifinal between Notre Dame and Penn State, on a day when Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino threw passes to fans. Around the stage sit a rock climbing wall, face painting, caricature artists, interactive exhibits and games. In the Burger Battle, restaurants from each team's city and a local Miami spot cook against each other; past judges have included Orange Bowl Hall of Fame inductees, ESPN broadcasters and former Orange Bowl presidents, and fans get samples to judge for themselves. The committee's invitation-only VIP pregame party is held inside the Fan Fest compound. Audience Everyone inside holds a ticket to the game, split between the fan bases of the two teams playing. The committee's economic impact study counted 72% of game attendees coming from outside Florida, along with 85,633 extra hotel room nights. Track record At its peak, 29 million people watched the 2024 Capital One Orange Bowl on television. The committee puts the economic impact and added media value of the 2015, 2018 and 2021 semifinals at $756.4 million combined. Through Orange Bowl Cares, the committee and its partners committed more than $50 million to South Florida over two decades, including more than $25 million for park renovations under a legacy parks program begun in 2009. Brand presence Capital One holds the title on the game and on Fan Fest, and the Burger Battle carries its own presenting partner, Vet Tix. Associate sponsors get interactive exhibit space in the compound, product sampling and data collection, signage, videoboard spots, PA announcements, on-stage giveaways and inclusion in the Orange Bowl media plan. The same kit is sold across the committee's other bowl-week events, from the pep rally on Lincoln Road to the Legends Luncheon.