One of the hot news items this year has been the St. Petersburg Bowl football game, and it’s new game title sponsor, BitPay.

The Atlanta-based bitcoin payments processor announced today that over one hundred businesses in the St. Petersburg, Florida area will begin accepting bitcoin ahead of the game, slated to take place on the 26th of December at Tropicana Field.

Examples of businesses that are taking part in the mass acceptance (of sorts) include: Green Bench Brewing, Craftsman House and Gallery, the St. Petersburg Museum of History,The Ale and the Witch, Acropolis Greek Taverna, Genaro Coffee Company, Hotel Zamora, and Ferg’s Sports Bar, according to today’s announcement.

The idea is to get people in town (and attendees of the games) familiar with the digital currency and give them an opportunity to spend their bits at places they would ordinarily spend traditional cash at.

“I’ve been accepting bitcoin for months, even before the bowl game sponsorship,” says Patricia Francati of Genaro Coffee Company. “It’s the cheapest way for me to accept payment, and it attracts customers to my shop. What more could I ask for?”

“I like that the currency is universal,” says Mark Ferguson of Fergs Sports Bar and Grill. “Our area gets a lot of international tourists, and this gives those customers a way to pay without exchanging their money.”

“We are sponsoring this bowl game to show the world a hands-on experience with bitcoin,” adds BitPay Executive Director Tony Gallippi. “St.Petersburg is going to be an example of what bitcoin can enable anywhere in the world – a cheaper, faster, and more secure way of doing business.”