The Jacksonville Jaguars

[duvaldude08]

Well Mojo has spoken. He is really making me mad. Stop being selfish and think about the team.

Amen! +1,000,000!

He wants to hold out an penalize the team because he feels he is underpaid? What a great teammate and roll model. Hold firm Gene Smith! The fans are with you and we can always use Jennings, besides, the NFL is a QB league, and this is Gabbert's year to shine. MJD leads the league in rushing and the team goes 5-11, woop dee doo!

He is really jumping the gun. If he had one year left in his contract, the team would scramble to get him a new deal because they would not want him to even tocuh free agency when the season is over. But he's only hurting his self in my opinon. He will be far behind on the learning curb and probably will see Jennings get more carries because of of that. Not to mention he could be fined and would not get paid if this carried on into the season.

[Tacachale]

More news on the ticket front:

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Will your tax dollars be paying for season tickets to Jaguars games?

An ordinance submitted to Jacksonville's City Council says yes, but a city councilman says no.

MORE: Jaguars meeting with city council members raises questions about Sunshine law violations

The ordinance 2012-380 was submitted during the Jacksonville City Council meeting on June 12.  It asks for $19,4456.80 to be used out of the Special Council Operating Contingency Fund to purchase 24-season tickets to one of the city's suites at Everbank field.

Chief Financial Officer Ronnie Belton says the money in the Special Council Operating Contingency Fund was general fund money that was set aside in 2008 to pay for statewide general ballots for the 2010 elections.  The ballots ended up not being needed, so Belton says the money has sat unused.

According to the city's lease agreement with the Jaguars, the city of Jacksonville has two suites set aside for them, but they have to purchase season tickets to use the suites.

For the past two years, Jacksonville has declined to buy the tickets.  During the 2011 season, the city told First Coast News the budget was too tight to pay for the tickets.  With money still tight this year, we asked city councilman Matt Schellenberg why he submitted the ordinance.

"I submitted this because I have a gentleman that is willing to pay the $19,000 some odd dollars to the city, so the city can buy the tickets. So there is no cost to the city," said Schellenberg.

Schellenberg says that gentleman is Harry Frisch with Beaver Street Fisheries.   First Coast news called Frisch to confirm the information and received a message back from his secretary saying the information we were told was incorrect.  This is the statement First Coast News received from Frisch:

"In an effort to support the Jacksonville Jaguars and at the same time, encourage growth and new relationships for the City of Jacksonville, Mr. Frisch agreed to call on other possible partners to contribute towards a Mayor's Suite at Everbank Field.  This would allow the Mayor the opportunity to meet with potential partners and visitors to the city in this venue, and forge new relationships for the growth and betterment of Jacksonville."

Ordinance 2012-380 currently mentions nothing about a private donor or donors, but Schellenberg said he is working on an amendment.

The city council has to tell the Jaguars by July 1st if they are going to be using their suites for this season or not.  We will keep you updated on what is decided. 

It's a shame what the city has allowed happen with those boxes.

[fsquid]

The way the rules are now, RBs have no leverage anymore.  The one thing out of whack is the insane contract that DeAngelo Williams got last year from carolina.  That made Frank Gore holdout last training camp and I'm sure have made other RBs think about their contracts.

[duvaldude08]

More news on the ticket front:

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Will your tax dollars be paying for season tickets to Jaguars games?

An ordinance submitted to Jacksonville's City Council says yes, but a city councilman says no.

MORE: Jaguars meeting with city council members raises questions about Sunshine law violations

The ordinance 2012-380 was submitted during the Jacksonville City Council meeting on June 12.  It asks for $19,4456.80 to be used out of the Special Council Operating Contingency Fund to purchase 24-season tickets to one of the city's suites at Everbank field.

Chief Financial Officer Ronnie Belton says the money in the Special Council Operating Contingency Fund was general fund money that was set aside in 2008 to pay for statewide general ballots for the 2010 elections.  The ballots ended up not being needed, so Belton says the money has sat unused.

According to the city's lease agreement with the Jaguars, the city of Jacksonville has two suites set aside for them, but they have to purchase season tickets to use the suites.

For the past two years, Jacksonville has declined to buy the tickets.  During the 2011 season, the city told First Coast News the budget was too tight to pay for the tickets.  With money still tight this year, we asked city councilman Matt Schellenberg why he submitted the ordinance.

"I submitted this because I have a gentleman that is willing to pay the $19,000 some odd dollars to the city, so the city can buy the tickets. So there is no cost to the city," said Schellenberg.

Schellenberg says that gentleman is Harry Frisch with Beaver Street Fisheries.   First Coast news called Frisch to confirm the information and received a message back from his secretary saying the information we were told was incorrect.  This is the statement First Coast News received from Frisch:

"In an effort to support the Jacksonville Jaguars and at the same time, encourage growth and new relationships for the City of Jacksonville, Mr. Frisch agreed to call on other possible partners to contribute towards a Mayor's Suite at Everbank Field.  This would allow the Mayor the opportunity to meet with potential partners and visitors to the city in this venue, and forge new relationships for the growth and betterment of Jacksonville."

Ordinance 2012-380 currently mentions nothing about a private donor or donors, but Schellenberg said he is working on an amendment.

The city council has to tell the Jaguars by July 1st if they are going to be using their suites for this season or not.  We will keep you updated on what is decided. 

It's a shame what the city has allowed happen with those boxes.

Yup!

[duvaldude08]

The way the rules are now, RBs have no leverage anymore.  The one thing out of whack is the insane contract that DeAngelo Williams got last year from carolina.  That made Frank Gore holdout last training camp and I'm sure have made other RBs think about their contracts.

Dont forget about Chris Johnson and his mega deal last year.

[duvaldude08]

The citrus bowl is finally being renovated. Do you think the playing in Orlando Idea will come back up? I know it was WW's idea. And I know they are nixing the 18 game season thing. I wonder if the new leadership will still pursue it? I personally wouldnt mind it. But only one game a season. I think two games a year, without the 18 game season would be too much.

New deal struck for Citrus Bowl renovation project
Published On: Jun 25 2012 04:29:06 PM EDT
Small TextMedium TextLarge Text.Print Email Tweet Close Send to a Friend  URLFrom Email: To Email: Comment: SubmitCancel .ORLANDO, Fla. - With a brand new plan to bring long-awaited renovations to its 76-year-old Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando officials are hoping the time is finally right to host a a national championship game or one of the new college football playoff games.

After several years of false starts, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs announced a plan Monday that will finance a projected $175 million facelift for the stadium that currently hosts the Capital One Bowl and Russell Athletic Bowl games annually.

"I think our community, if we have the right facilities, can host anything that the world has to offer," Dyer said. "We have the best arena in the entire world. I'm not promising the best stadium, but we will have a B-plus, A-minus stadium that we can host just about anything that can be hosted in a stadium.

"So between those two facilities and the convention center, there isn't anything that we can't compete for."

A plan to fund the renovations was originally struck between the city and county in 2007 as part of a larger project that was also going to provide money for the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center and help build the new Amway Center. That plan called for the city to issue bonds to pay for the construction work, with the county paying yearly debt on bonds using tourism taxes.

The economic downturn caused that money stream to evaporate, with the city no longer being able to secure credit to borrow needed money for all three projects. The Citrus Bowl renovations became the immediate casualty.

Dyer and Jacobs met on June 6 during a public face-to-face meeting in which they agreed to put together a deal to begin Citrus Bowl renovations. Both left that meeting with an agreement to back up debt for construction with both the city and county funding contributions.

"We did very little negotiation before that meeting. We negotiated where we wanted to sit and that was about it," Jacobs said. "After that, it was really up to Mayor Dyer and I just to sit down and have a frank conversation.

"A lot of people think that's awkward to do in front of an audience, but fortunately Mayor Dyer and I pretty much have to have all of our frank conversations with our boards that way. So what you saw is what it took."

Under the deal announced on Monday, which will go before the Orlando City Council on July 9 and Orange County commissioners on July 10, the county will keep $12.5 million in a reserve should debt payments for the renovations come up short.

The city will issue bonds using revenue from tourism taxes and also will provide the credit source to back the stadium bonds. Property taxes will not be used as a credit source.

Dyer said bonds are expected to be issued in 2014, with construction beginning in either January or February of that year. The hope is that it will then be complete in time as not to interfere with any subsequent bowl seasons.

Among the upgrades expected for the 65,000-seat stadium are: new suites and about 8,000 club seats; more restrooms and concession stands; and new banquet and ballroom spaces.

Florida Citrus Sports runs both the Capital One and newly-named Russell Athletic bowls.

CEO Steve Hogan said that with the upcoming upgrades, the stadium should be able to generate $250 million in revenue each year, with 70 percent to 80 percent of that money coming from visitors' spending money in Orlando.

Hogan was a collegiate commissioners' conference in Chicago two weeks ago when Dyer and Jacobs first revived renovation talks.

"There was no question that (news of the talks) reverberated through the room," Hogan said. "It was kind of a beacon of light and hope in that marketplace because many of them respect Orlando for the destination that it is."

Hogan said that getting a projected conclusion date for the project was critical to FCS being able to position itself to get in on future college bowl game talks.

"Most major sporting events are planning three, four (or) five years out," he said. "So if you don't have some certainty on that date, you can't go and start having the conversation. So I'm excited about the fact that we can all start joining arms and pitching Orlando now."

[Tacachale]

A preseason game is possible, but we'll see. The benefit of games like that depend on (1) how lucrative it is for the team compared to playing at home, and on a related note (2) whether the gameday experience can match up to a home game. My guess is it never happens.

Other than one-off games, mostly exhibitions, teams rarely find it worth it to play outside their hometown these days. The notable except is Buffalo - and that works for them because the team makes a lot of money whether or not the Toronto games sell. With NFL stadiums being what they are now, it's extremely rare that a non-NFL stadium can compare. While the new Citrus Bowl might get a leg up with these improvements, it remains to be seen whether the Jags would benefit more by bringing to team to what will essentially be a nice college stadium, vs. finding other ways to lure Orlando fans to EverBank Field, with the Bud Zone, the soon-to-be-updated screens, and the plethora of food and drink venues.

[urbanlibertarian]

A preseason game is possible, but we'll see. The benefit of games like that depend on (1) how lucrative it is for the team compared to playing at home, and on a related note (2) whether the gameday experience can match up to a home game. My guess is it never happens.

Other than one-off games, mostly exhibitions, teams rarely find it worth it to play outside their hometown these days. The notable except is Buffalo - and that works for them because the team makes a lot of money whether or not the Toronto games sell. With NFL stadiums being what they are now, it's extremely rare that a non-NFL stadium can compare. While the new Citrus Bowl might get a leg up with these improvements, it remains to be seen whether the Jags would benefit more by bringing to team to what will essentially be a nice college stadium, vs. finding other ways to lure Orlando fans to EverBank Field, with the Bud Zone, the soon-to-be-updated screens, and the plethora of food and drink venues.

IMHO, the thing that would lure more Orlando folks to Everbank field would be the live NFL action on the field not the amenities in the stands.  Giving them a taste of that in their own back yard would be way more effective than sending Team Teal down there for an event.

[fsquid]

The way the rules are now, RBs have no leverage anymore.  The one thing out of whack is the insane contract that DeAngelo Williams got last year from carolina.  That made Frank Gore holdout last training camp and I'm sure have made other RBs think about their contracts.

Dont forget about Chris Johnson and his mega deal last year.

true, but I refuse to acknowledge Nashville in any way.

[copperfiend]

A preseason game is possible, but we'll see. The benefit of games like that depend on (1) how lucrative it is for the team compared to playing at home, and on a related note (2) whether the gameday experience can match up to a home game. My guess is it never happens.

Other than one-off games, mostly exhibitions, teams rarely find it worth it to play outside their hometown these days. The notable except is Buffalo - and that works for them because the team makes a lot of money whether or not the Toronto games sell. With NFL stadiums being what they are now, it's extremely rare that a non-NFL stadium can compare. While the new Citrus Bowl might get a leg up with these improvements, it remains to be seen whether the Jags would benefit more by bringing to team to what will essentially be a nice college stadium, vs. finding other ways to lure Orlando fans to EverBank Field, with the Bud Zone, the soon-to-be-updated screens, and the plethora of food and drink venues.

IMHO, the thing that would lure more Orlando folks to Everbank field would be the live NFL action on the field not the amenities in the stands.  Giving them a taste of that in their own back yard would be way more effective than sending Team Teal down there for an event.

Exactly. The CBS station manager in Orlando has complained in the past because they have to show all Jaguar road games. He wouldn't complain if the team was really good. Orlando is the ultimate bandwagon for the state. Pre-Jaguars, it was a Dolphin town because Miami was good and Tampa Bay was awful. In the late 90's, there were Jaguar fans all over. Then in the early 2000's, it was mostly Bucs fans. But for the last ten years, all three Florida teams have been pretty medicore so the town is up for grabs. If the Jaguars start winning on a regular basis, the amount of fans in Orlando will grow.

[Tacachale]

A preseason game is possible, but we'll see. The benefit of games like that depend on (1) how lucrative it is for the team compared to playing at home, and on a related note (2) whether the gameday experience can match up to a home game. My guess is it never happens.

Other than one-off games, mostly exhibitions, teams rarely find it worth it to play outside their hometown these days. The notable except is Buffalo - and that works for them because the team makes a lot of money whether or not the Toronto games sell. With NFL stadiums being what they are now, it's extremely rare that a non-NFL stadium can compare. While the new Citrus Bowl might get a leg up with these improvements, it remains to be seen whether the Jags would benefit more by bringing to team to what will essentially be a nice college stadium, vs. finding other ways to lure Orlando fans to EverBank Field, with the Bud Zone, the soon-to-be-updated screens, and the plethora of food and drink venues.

IMHO, the thing that would lure more Orlando folks to Everbank field would be the live NFL action on the field not the amenities in the stands.  Giving them a taste of that in their own back yard would be way more effective than sending Team Teal down there for an event.

It might, but you'd have to factor in the opportunity cost of losing a home game in your own stadium. You run the risk of strengthening your presence in Orlando while weakening your presence in the home city - and your finances - by losing that home game.

Which is why I'm betting it won't ever happen. There are other ways to reach out to fans in Orlando.

[duvaldude08]

Senior VP of Sales Macky Weaver optimistic about 2012 season ticket sales

A couple of months out, Macky Weaver likes where things stand.

Weaver, the Jaguars’ Senior Vice President of Sales, said the team is ahead of last year’s pace for season-ticket sales and that he expects the team will surpass the number of season tickets sold for last season within about five days.

The season-ticket sales period extends through August.

“We’re a couple of months ahead,” Weaver said.

Weaver said the team has an aggressive goal for total number of season ticket sales. That means there is still much work to be done before the regular season opens in September, but Weaver said if past sales are an indication of sales for the next two months the team should meet its goals for the 2012 season.

“Assuming that stays at that pace, we will be in good shape,” Weaver said. “We’re still cautiously optimistic.”

Weaver said the team under new owner Shahid Khan and new President Mark Lamping is focused less on the short-term, week-to-week number of ticket sales, and that therefore, there are no plans to release sales numbers on a daily basis.

Instead, Weaver said the strategy is about long-term, steady growth and building a solid fan base.

“There’s a long-term plan here,” Weaver said. “From sponsorship to ticket sales, there’s a good feeling that in the next year or two you’re going to see the fruits of these things. Could it be this year? For sure. There is definitely opportunity this year, but what you’re not going to have is success this year then a drop-off next year.

“We have things planned for this year, then things planned for next year. This is the foundation. All of these things add up and people are excited about coming here and excited about this team.”

Weaver said it’s his feeling that the increased numbers from last season stems not only from a change in ownership, but an excitement generated by a new coaching staff and the selection of wide receiver Justin Blackmon with the No. 5 overall selection in the 2012 NFL Draft.

“In the last couple of years, we had gotten to a point there wasn’t a lot of optimism,” Weaver said. “There’s optimism about what’s going on with this team. I don’t think nationally they’re giving us that credit, but it’s trending the right direction. I think people feel that.”

The Jaguars and the rest of the league also benefitted from a full, normal offseason this year after a lockout threatened the preseason and regular season in 2011.

Weaver said the team also has worked this offseason to improve the in-game experience, an effort that has included improving the sound system and ensuring Wi-Fi service for all fans in attendance.

“There are a lot of positive things going on,” Weaver said.

Weaver said the team also this offseason has increased focus on the suite, terrace suite and club seat sections of EverBank Field, and that more suites already have been sold this season compared to last. Weaver said the team re-priced part of the East Club and increased efforts to educate the market on available ticketing options toward that end.

“We’re getting creative on working with people,” he said. “There is an aggressive effort to sell a lot of that premium inventory. It’s about educating the market on all the different products we have.

“One of the things we’ve learned is we needed to educate the consumer. People really didn’t understand what we have â€" that you can rent suites by the single game, that you can rent cabanas by the single game, that you can get club suites by single game.

“We’ve tried to understand what people’s needs are, then tried to adapt what we have to something that works for them.”

The team on Tuesday is holding what Weaver called a “Terrace Suite Showcase event,” with about 200 executives from area companies expected to attend.

“You have two things you have to look at,” Weaver said. “You have the general bowl, which we have to sell to avoid the blackout, but from a revenue standpoint in order to move up in the rankings within the league we have to sell the premium areas.

“We are focused in the general bowl and doing a lot in the premium areas.”

[comncense]

So I know a few of you guys are quick to spew the "In Gene We Trust" b.s., I can't really argue too much about the MJD situation other than to say I would have liked to see Gene do what MJD has done pretty much and refuse to discuss it in detail in the media. What's upsetting to me is the situation with Scobee. There's no reason there should have been months that have passed without discussing an extension for him. We are not the Patriots. We haven't shown that we are smart enough to let people go and fill in someone else and they be just as good. I don't believe it's a good idea as an organization to show that you suck with dealing with your players and handling their contracts when the time is due. Reason being, if I'm that player, why would I want to re-sign with you? Especially if you have the opportunity to go somewhere else that you feel you'd have a better chance of winning. Also I think things like that get around to people in the league when they consider signing with you as a free agent.

"I just don’t see a point in showing any good faith to the team if they’re not going to negotiate," he said. "There’s no reason for me to show up on my good faith being that I’m the player, I’m the employee, when they choose not to speak. I don’t expect them to reward bad behavior and I won’t reward them with the behavior that they’re treating me with."

"It’s been a frustrating offseason, one of uncertainty," Scobee said. "I’ve been with the Jaguars a long time now. I feel like the last couple season in the offseason especially, I worked hard at becoming a better kicker overall. My numbers last year were very good … for that hard work I would hope that the team would like to reward me.

[duvaldude08]

So I know a few of you guys are quick to spew the "In Gene We Trust" b.s., I can't really argue too much about the MJD situation other than to say I would have liked to see Gene do what MJD has done pretty much and refuse to discuss it in detail in the media. What's upsetting to me is the situation with Scobee. There's no reason there should have been months that have passed without discussing an extension for him. We are not the Patriots. We haven't shown that we are smart enough to let people go and fill in someone else and they be just as good. I don't believe it's a good idea as an organization to show that you suck with dealing with your players and handling their contracts when the time is due. Reason being, if I'm that player, why would I want to re-sign with you? Especially if you have the opportunity to go somewhere else that you feel you'd have a better chance of winning. Also I think things like that get around to people in the league when they consider signing with you as a free agent.

"I just don’t see a point in showing any good faith to the team if they’re not going to negotiate," he said. "There’s no reason for me to show up on my good faith being that I’m the player, I’m the employee, when they choose not to speak. I don’t expect them to reward bad behavior and I won’t reward them with the behavior that they’re treating me with."

"It’s been a frustrating offseason, one of uncertainty," Scobee said. "I’ve been with the Jaguars a long time now. I feel like the last couple season in the offseason especially, I worked hard at becoming a better kicker overall. My numbers last year were very good … for that hard work I would hope that the team would like to reward me.

You know the scobee thing has started to bother me. Especially when I found out that Gene had not any contact with them in months. Thats ridiculos.  As far as MJD, that situation is not bothering me anyway. I dont feel that the team should act like its a secrect that MJD wants a new contract. But Gene better tread carefully, because Khan is not the one and thats all Im going to say about that. LOL

I like Gene, but him and Khan is like night and day. And for that reason, he wont be around long.

[duvaldude08]

Another good read

A new approach, a new era
Posted 2 hours ago

John Oehser
Senior writer

jaguars.com

Follow John on twitter
aaNew SVP Corporate Partnerships Scott Massey leads Jaguars into new era of corporate partnership

Scott Massey wasn’t looking for a career change, necessarily.

When Massey met with new Jaguars President Mark Lamping this spring to have an exploratory conversation about the Jaguars, he didn’t want to wait until he got home to tell his wife about the discussion.  Massey called her to say “there’s something special happening with the Jaguars.” Lamping had been, to say the least, persuasive.

Massey, then Vice President of Title Sponsor Relations/Business Development at the PGA TOUR, said Lamping talked that night about a new direction for the team on the field, off the field and â€" specifically of interest to Massey â€" in the area of corporate sponsorships. During the short drive home, he said a few things were sinking in.

One was that Jaguars Owner Shahid Khan, who purchased the team in January, was a businessman of such success that he could “do anything in the world.” Another was that Lamping, previously the President of the St. Louis Cardinals and the New Meadowlands Stadium Company, “could probably do anything in sports.” And yet, Massey realized, they had opted to focus their careers on the Jaguars and the Jacksonville market.

Massey said those realizations led to a third:

That the Jaguars were something with which he wanted to be involved.

“That was contagious,” said Massey, who moved into the newly created position of Jaguars Senior Vice President Corporate Partnerships on May 29. “What excites me is sinking my teeth into something that’s a wholly new challenge. They’re obviously on to something.”

What the Jaguars are on to, Massey said, is a new approach to corporate partnerships, an approach that he said became even more compelling days after he joined the organization.

This was early June. He and Lamping were in New York to meet with a potential partner.

“Mark framed the meeting in a way that made so much sense to me,” Massey said. “He said, ‘We know that if you were to get involved with an NFL team, Jacksonville probably wouldn’t be No. 1 on your list.’ It was very modest. He continued, ‘We understand we might not even make your Top 10 list, but here’s why you should look at Jacksonville through a different lens and why we think we’re really on to something unique.’

Massey said Lamping emphasized the “uncluttered” nature of the Jacksonville market â€" i.e., a large area with just one major professional sports franchise with a fan base extremely loyal to sponsor products. That, Massey said, helps make Jacksonville not only a good market for companies looking to become involved with the NFL, but an ideal one.

“We have flexibility unlike you would find in any other NFL market,” Massey said. “Most NFL markets are going to cost a lot more, require a long-term commitment and they can’t be nearly as flexible. What we’re saying is, ‘Think of Jacksonville as a laboratory for trying new concepts that, when successful, can scale to other markets.’  Other companies look at Jacksonville and when they test-market products, a lot of times they do so here because of the uncluttered situation. If you test in another market, you’re competing with the NBA, Major League Baseball, NHL â€" whatever.  We will work hard to connect your brand to our fans in contextual way where there’s no mistaking the association.”

“If the Jaguars move the needle on your product, it’s measurable. There’s no other team.”

Massey recently sat down and discussed other aspects of his position and the Jaguars’ new approach to corporate sponsorship:



We’ve talked about some of your selling points to national sponsors â€" i.e., the size of the Jacksonville market and its status as a one-team region. What are some other selling points?

“The teams coming to play here are big-market teams: New York, New England, Detroit, Chicago. When you think about our telecasts being distributed to those markets, those are a lot of eyeballs. We are working on some concepts that will not only resonate with the fans in the stadium, but hopefully the way we’re going to do some of our staging will be picked up in the broadcast. We’re looking for partners who are looking to develop strategic partnerships and who want to grow with us and are excited about this new era. What we keep saying is, ‘We have a new owner, a new head coach, a new CEO, a new head of fan experiences, a new head of partnerships . . .’ it’s a whole new era here.’’



You came to the Jaguars from the PGA TOUR.  Are you talking to similar people, or is this a whole new market for you personally?

There certainly are sponsors who support both the PGA TOUR and the NFL, but out of the gate so far most of our discussions are with people who are not invested in the NFL. We’re giving them a compelling business reason why they should. For those who are already emotionally invested in the NFL and who believe it’s the right platform, we’re helping them understand why we can do things more inexpensively with more flexibility and more efficiently here in Jacksonville.



People reading this might be surprised to learn you’re in New York talking to potential partners. There might be a perception that you’d be looking locally for sponsors rather than nationally, but that’s not the case . . .

If we do our job correctly in the coming years we will have a number of national brands supporting the Jaguars because they do view this area â€" North Florida/Southeast Georgia â€" as a highly desirable place to do business. What we’re also making people aware of is that Jacksonville is a Top-10 place to live. A lot of people don’t know that. It is an extremely young town. It is an affluent market. Beyond the companies based here and the medical community, you have some iconic and idyllic places: St. Augustine, the PGA TOUR and TPC Sawgrass, Amelia Island and on and on. And then there’s a significant military presence here, including a high percentage of retired military who choose to live here because it’s a great place to live. That’s the message we’re getting out to corporate America, if you will, that this is a great place to reach a desirable audience and to do it in a very efficient way.



So, part of your job, really, is to resell and reshape the image of Jacksonville nationally â€" or are most people you talk with aware of what Jacksonville has to offer?

Some yes and some no. If you’ve been here, if you’ve stayed at the (Ponte Vedra) Inn and Club, or if you’ve stayed at Amelia Island or if you’ve played TPC Sawgrass, you know how special it is. If you haven’t been here, then you probably are like a lot of people who may not be 100 percent sure where Jacksonville is. You have people who have been here who think, ‘That’s a home-run place to live,’ and then you have people who are thinking, ‘Now, is that on the gulf or Atlantic?’ A lot of people also don’t realize the land mass â€" how many people. We pull fans from great distances.



Something you mentioned early on in our discussion is the feeling you got from Mark Lamping and Shad Khan about the new direction of this franchise. You left the PGA TOUR to join the Jaguars, so clearly something made an impact on you during the process.

Not everyone has the benefit of sitting with the guy who has come in as the president of the company, and not everyone has the benefit of hearing him talk about the lengths the new owner is prepared to go to â€" how he intends to go the extra, extra mile and how he wants to elevate Jacksonville in the eyes of the international community. I drove home the night I met with Mark, and I had a four-minute ride home from where we met. I called my wife on the way home because what started out as me meeting Mark and having a quiet casual conversation, I started thinking, ‘You’ve got a new owner who could have done anything he wanted and he chose this and you have a president who has been to the summit of sports a couple of times.’ The challenge is huge and the vertical slope is high, but it’s exciting because we’re going to knock down barriers and that slope is going to get less steep each passing day.



Did Mark say something in particular in that meeting? What was it that really swayed you?

You could just tell that he was at a place in his career where he had the benefit of handpicking what he wanted to do. Most people don’t have that opportunity. Within sports, he could have the pick of the litter and he chose this. It’s a desirable place to come and live, but he can travel and go anywhere he wants, so as I peeled that onion back further, he talked about Shad and the energy and the blank sheet of paper, then he talked about (Senior Vice President Fan Experience) Hussain (Naqi) addressing the fan experience and making it the best in the NFL. Everything was, ‘We’re going to make this the best, best, best.’ I looked at it as an opportunity to join an 18-year-old company that in many ways felt like a brand new company. In many ways, I feel like I’ve trained for this opportunity my whole career. Now that I’m here, as I’m meeting with potential partners, I want them to be able to experience the same sort of enthusiasm I felt from Mark that day.



So, it was that much of a no-brainer at that point?

At the end of the day, I was still saying, ‘This sounds great. I’m excited about the new energy, but how are we going to communicate this to a national company, and how do we convince them to spend their money in Jacksonville and not a bigger market?’’ It was really Mark’s approach of saying, ‘We’re a blank sheet of paper and we’re an open book.’ We’re going to work harder and smarter and run faster to earn your business. We’ll do it in a crawl, walk, run kind of way.



And that’s a big selling point . . .

A lot of sponsors are leery about paying huge dollars for a long-term commitment. They’re saying, ‘What if it doesn’t work? We’re stuck with this thing.’ We’re taking away all of those barriers. We’re saying, ‘Try us. You’ll like us. If you don’t, move on and no harm, no foul. We’re pretty sure you’re going to love us and if we weren’t, we wouldn’t offer you the flexibility.’ My job â€" and I really believe this â€" is that for our corporate partners from a ROI (Return on Investment) and a servicing perspective, they’ll get significant value no matter whether the Jaguars are 16-0 or 0-16. For the things that we can control, it’s going to be fantastic. Should we win and do something special, it will be phenomenal. We’re going to put our heads down and work as hard as we can. What happens on the field happens on the field, but our goal will be that our partners will feel the value they’re getting is outstanding regardless of our record.



Is it too early to know how this new approach is being received?

Time will tell, but in the early stages I haven’t had one person tell me they don’t really, really admire our approach. We will get people into the Jaguars family who really respect and admire the approach we’re taking and give us a chance to prove our mettle, and we will.



And there’s more to your philosophy of sponsorship than just sponsoring something for the sake of doing it. The best sponsorship situation is one that gives fans a feeling about the sponsor . . .

Anybody can slap on a logo or buy some media. We can do that, too. We want to do programs that are thoughtful. Since we have a blank sheet of paper, what will fans respond to? What would cause the fan to think, ‘That’s really cool and makes a ton of sense?’ If someone says, ‘I just want a concourse sign,’ of course we can do that. But where we’re really going to make a difference is when there’s a connection with the fans and the interaction with the brand is authentic. For example, any company can sponsor our fan experience, but that doesn’t do any good for the long haul. When it’s going right, people are thinking, ‘That’s really cool, because that’s what the company is all about.’



Three weeks in, it sounds like you’re more excited than the night you met Mark.

We have a long road ahead. We’ve come out of a rough economy, a rough time for the franchise. We need to love the partners who have hung in there with us and acknowledge how important that was, and we need to attract new partners and make sure that moving forward all partners know this is Jaguars 2.0 and we’re excited about it.