If Oklahoma City can get a NBA team.......WHY CANT JACKSONVILLE????

[TPC]

This does bring up a good question. What type of pro team would Jax land as it's 2nd? (For arguments sake let's just say we had a larger population base, same demographics as now.)  Personally I miss hockey, but judging by the attedance at the defunct lizard kings & barracudas, there's not too many hockey fans in town.

I think a MLB soccer team could do well here. We have good number for the US Scotland game. The Destroyers are ranked 5th in attendance and the BASL has a large number of players.

[tufsu1]

I think an NBA team would do well in Jacksonville. I think there's enough basketball fans to pull it off.

attendance at JU and UNF (both D1 schools) basketball games doesn't support this assertion

[Dapperdan]

I think an NBA team would do well in Jacksonville. I think there's enough basketball fans to pull it off.

attendance at JU and UNF (both D1 schools) basketball games doesn't support this assertion

No offense, but these are two low level D-1 schools in a  very terrible A-Sun League and they can't even win those championships. You are comparing apples and oranges. We are talking about the NBA, professional sports filled with a team of players that were all the best of the best in college. Not even close.

[fsquid]

there might be a good number of basketball fans (if there are, they are hiding when the NCAAs are on), but will they pay NBA ticket prices to watch the JAX team play Cleveland?  Portland?  Charlotte?

[Jason]

Personally, I'm happy with the Suns, Sharks, and Giants as the "other" pro teams in Jax.  They are all great fun, competetive, and inexpensive.  If we're missing anything it would be soccer or hockey.

[KenFSU]

I remember going to see the public Orlando Magic scrimmage when they were holding their preseason training at UNF. Dwight Howard was there, as was Jameer Nelson, Hedo, Grant Hill, and JJ Redick straight out of Duke. Decent crowd, but the small gym wasn't even close to sold out. There were empty seats when the 2004 Olympic Team played Puerto Rico in 2004. Places like Sneakers and Buffalo Wild Wings here in town are packed for football season, and deserted for the NBA Playoffs.

The reason the city finally recieved an NFL franchise is simple:

There was demand for it.

I just don't see any empirical evidence, aside from a few hundred scattered fans at Giants games, that there is any demand for professional basketball in this city.

I respect Brown's confidence in the city when he discusses an NBA team, but sadly, it's typical Jacksonville to neglect the resources we already have (the Jaguars) to chase whatever the next carrot on a string is to supposedly make the country take us seriously.

To answer the question though, in a perfect world where the metro could support it, major league baseball would be incredible in Jacksonville, with a 30,000 seat throwback ballpark on the St. John's River overlooking downtown. The city's baseball heritage is far richer (though disgusting at times) than any other major sport except football, and the Suns normally draw pretty decent crowds. I think it could work if there metro were to double.

That aside though, Jacksonville really is a pretty damn great sports city. Between the NFL, arena football, the Suns, college basketball, two huge college football games, the Player's Championship, FSU/UF baseball, the occasionally NCAA Tournament games, the Giants, etc., there's actually quite a lot going on for a city this size.

[jerry cornwell]

I think an NBA team would do well in Jacksonville. I think there's enough basketball fans to pull it off.

I'm with you on this. If someone came to town with a franchise, all the naysayers would jump on the bandwagon. Lets consider the differences of the game. Its indoor, so a bit more family oriented. Like, how can one NOT take the kids to a game each year. Its a great idea to take friends, out of towners, your neighbors to a game (or two). Its a NBA franchise! Even with a minority of people who get addicted to the sport, you'll get repeaters who come to games. Then you generate enthusiasm for the team, which allows significant pull for the less stellar teams.
Anti redneck is right, theres enough fans for an NBA franchise.
Im remembering going to watch the Nets play. Its really a lot of fun.
Damn you, MetroJax! I'm getting goose bumps just thinking about it.

[simms3]

For its size and its location within an oversupplied state and within the South, Jacksonville does quite ok.  The SE and FL are horrible professional sports markets in general.  The only really successful teams are the Braves (look at the area with which they pull fans due to lack of other teams), the Heat (now that they have had Shaq and Lebron), the Saints (after their SuperBowl season), the Predators (ironically Nashville is a great hockey town), and that's really it.

Even the largest cities in the south have a hard time filling stadiums (the Thrashers left Atlanta for Canada and numbers aren't good for Tampa Bay teams).  The only reason Charlotte and Nashville have multiple teams is because they have larger population draws within the metro and the state with little to no market competition.

[cline]

I think an NBA team would do well in Jacksonville. I think there's enough basketball fans to pull it off.

I'm with you on this. If someone came to town with a franchise, all the naysayers would jump on the bandwagon. Lets consider the differences of the game. Its indoor, so a bit more family oriented. Like, how can one NOT take the kids to a game each year. Its a great idea to take friends, out of towners, your neighbors to a game (or two). Its a NBA franchise! Even with a minority of people who get addicted to the sport, you'll get repeaters who come to games. Then you generate enthusiasm for the team, which allows significant pull for the less stellar teams.
Anti redneck is right, theres enough fans for an NBA franchise.
Im remembering going to watch the Nets play. Its really a lot of fun.
Damn you, MetroJax! I'm getting goose bumps just thinking about it.

Like Ken said, we've had NBA games here before and no one goes.  Just going to a game or two a year is not going to support an NBA franchise with 82 games.  Football is far more popular than basketball and we can't sell out Jags games.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Here's my take based off of 100% perception - no hard facts.

The talk of bringing in another sports team to Jax at the professional level is ludicrous. 

The NBA has 41 home games a season - do you guys really believe that we will sell enough season tix to support it?  The financial structure is completely different than football.  NBA guys get PAID, as in guaranteed contracts.  It takes a lot of $$$ to maintain the franchise.  The owners are claiming that they're losing money - hence the lockout that we just had.  The NBA is going to contract before it expands, IMO.  With a team in Miami, Orlando, NO, Charlotte & Atlanta, I just don't see them putting another team in this area.

AAA Baseball I think would do OK, but I think we'll do better by keeping an AA team here.  It's baseball.  Until you move up to the MLB level, you're still in the minor leagues be it AAA, AA or even A, and we're totally not ready for an 82 game a year commitment from 30k people.  Not going to happen.  I would like to see them move a spring training facility a little closer, though, to generate some more pre-season interest from an MLB team.  But even that is probably a pipe-dream.

Hockey - I thought we did OK with the Lizard Kings.  With the amount of northern implants we have, we should have a decent hockey following - enough for the minor leagues.  I always thought they left because of a contact dispute with the Arena.

[Keith-N-Jax]

Does any believe that if we were awarded a basketball team that fans would support team they are already fans of? If the Lakers, Celtics, or Bulls came to town might not be a pretty sight for the home team. Then what happens when Cleveland, or the Bobcats come to town. We need to focus on our downtown, transportation and bringing new business to town and be very thankful we have an NFL franchise. Jacksonville can not support another major franchise, IMHO.

[mbwright]

Hockey--the  Barracudas had a loyal following, but small, and the folks running the arena were too lazy to be bothered with changing the floor for the various events. 

Arena football-- has had good success, which is great.  The cost per person, is much lower than NFL.

Baseball--AA is the best.  I'm not just saying this because I used to usher for the Suns.  AA is a level where the players are working hard to move up, or have had a ton of experience, and working towards retirement.  This is very exciting.  The cost is reasonable (about $6-20), you are very close to the field, parking is not much ($5) or sometimes on the street.  Many of the pros today went through Jacksonville, either with the Suns, or other teams.   I spent 5 years there, and watched many future stars.   Take a look at the Dodgers, Marlins, and others.  Evan Longoria played here (with a visiting team), Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers), Mike Stanton, Marlins, and many more.
You don't really want AAA, as this is basically rehab from the majors.  The cost to run are much more and the tickets would be higher.    I much prefer minor league to the majors, any day.

Pro B-ball--since the money is guaranteed, it seems to be more about ego, than ball.  I watch college, but not much interest in current pro ball.  I grew up with the Lakers in the 80's, and it was a much different game then.

[KenFSU]

Anti redneck is right, theres enough fans for an NBA franchise.

Though I disagree that with your statement, you left out the "willing to spend over $50 per ticket per game ten times a month (the NBA average, not including parking or concessions)."

Huge difference between civic pride and economic reality.

We'd need a new Arena too, as VM isn't up to NBA capacity or standards.

There's only so much discretionary income in a mid-sized US metro of 1.2 million.

It's a true miracle that the city can support the Jags (an incredible accomplishment that too few are proud of when you compare per capita support among NFL franchises).

Adding another major league sports franchise without at least doubling the population will only serve the dual purpose of sinking both the NFL and NBA in Jacksonville.

[Tacachale]

For its size and its location within an oversupplied state and within the South, Jacksonville does quite ok.  The SE and FL are horrible professional sports markets in general.  The only really successful teams are the Braves (look at the area with which they pull fans due to lack of other teams), the Heat (now that they have had Shaq and Lebron), the Saints (after their SuperBowl season), the Predators (ironically Nashville is a great hockey town), and that's really it.

Even the largest cities in the south have a hard time filling stadiums (the Thrashers left Atlanta for Canada and numbers aren't good for Tampa Bay teams).  The only reason Charlotte and Nashville have multiple teams is because they have larger population draws within the metro and the state with little to no market competition.

Actually, the Southeast does quite well for all sports except hockey, especially when you include Texas. Florida is the consistent exception. The much bigger issues for Jacksonville's NBA hopes would be the lack of a venue/will to build a new one, the size of the market relative to regional saturation, and lack of a strong basketball culture.

Like Ken said, we've had NBA games here before and no one goes.  Just going to a game or two a year is not going to support an NBA franchise with 82 games.  Football is far more popular than basketball and we can't sell out Jags games.

That's true - and really the heart of it. There are only a few cities of around Jacksonville's size that support more than one major league team, and generally speaking, it's often very difficult for the teams. And even when there is a strong culture for a sport, the particulars of the business and outside issues can still make it different. Just look at Charlotte's struggles with the NBA despite North Carolina's substantial basketball tradition.

That aside though, Jacksonville really is a pretty damn great sports city. Between the NFL, arena football, the Suns, college basketball, two huge college football games, the Player's Championship, FSU/UF baseball, the occasionally NCAA Tournament games, the Giants, etc., there's actually quite a lot going on for a city this size.

Agree 100%. We're truly a fantastic sports city.

[jerry cornwell]

Anti redneck is right, theres enough fans for an NBA franchise.

Though I disagree that with your statement, you left out the "willing to spend over $50 per ticket per game ten times a month (the NBA average, not including parking or concessions)."

Huge difference between civic pride and economic reality.

We'd need a new Arena too, as VM isn't up to NBA capacity or standards.

There's only so much discretionary income in a mid-sized US metro of 1.2 million.

It's a true miracle that the city can support the Jags (an incredible accomplishment that too few are proud of when you compare per capita support among NFL franchises).

Adding another major league sports franchise without at least doubling the population will only serve the dual purpose of sinking both the NFL and NBA in Jacksonville.

This, and all the other points are true, perhaps I was taking my own experience with the NBA too liberally.
I would just think that if the NBA came here to land a franchise, things would go to a different level.  But the franchise itself would take into account all these points brought up. And, yes, the points alone would make a Jacksonville franchise unlikely.
Anytime soon.