Jacksonville Armada in trouble?

[thelakelander]

Go Polk County!

[tufsu1]

Ryan Palmer of RP Funding

do you mean Robert Palmer?

[Tacachale]

Interesting. Apparently a group associated with the USL (the other D2 league) was looking here as well.

[KenFSU]

Will continue beating this drum...

From the article, RP is paying $5 million in naming rights for the LAKELAND CENTER, and we continue to refuse to monetize ours.

[pierre]

Will continue beating this drum...

From the article, RP is paying $5 million in naming rights for the LAKELAND CENTER, and we continue to refuse to monetize ours.

It is really nonsensical that the city won't do it.

Same with the baseball grounds.

[Snaketoz]

Ryan Palmer of RP Funding

do you mean Robert Palmer?

Yes, thank you.  It is Robert.  "Hi, I'm Robert Palmer".

[jlmann]

KEN YOU DAMN COMMIE!!!

THIS IS THE US OF A WHERE WE BREAK INTO PAVLOVIAN PATRIOTIC JUBILATION AT MENTION OF THE HALLOWED WORD 'VETERAN.'

LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT BRO

[FlaBoy]

It will be intersting to see what the crowds will be.  UNF is certainly closer for the kids in its youth academy.

This question has been answered. I think it was the right move for financial stability with costs being cut from renting the Baseball Grounds and only a small down tick in attendance.

The club has since moved its home games to the University of North Florida's Hodges Stadium, drawing an average of 3,044 fans in its eight home games in 2017. That's a decrease of about 13 percent from last year.

[remc86007]

Perhaps we probably could (at least help) finance a medium sized soccer stadium if we sold the naming rights to the arena...

I think a decrease of only 13% considering the less central location and increasing age of the franchise isn't bad.

[FlaBoy]

It will be interesting to see if there were any stipulations for Robert Palmer in keeping the team as NASL moving forward rather than being able to move to the USL.

[Tacachale]

Perhaps we probably could (at least help) finance a medium sized soccer stadium if we sold the naming rights to the arena...

I think a decrease of only 13% considering the less central location and increasing age of the franchise isn't bad.

The attendance had already fallen from almost 8k the year before that. The real cause was a decrease in marketing.

[pierre]

Perhaps we probably could (at least help) finance a medium sized soccer stadium if we sold the naming rights to the arena...

I think a decrease of only 13% considering the less central location and increasing age of the franchise isn't bad.

I don't see how the Armada survive without a new venue. But I don't anybody lining up to pay for it, regardless of naming rights.

[FlaBoy]

I don't necessarily agree. If the Armada restored their marketing budgets, I think they could average with the best of the other NASL or USL squads there at UNF with a winning squad. The location is actually not bad for their fan base with it being right off JTB, Beach, and 295. The team has been in absolute flux for a couple years. Let it continue to have a name and let Robert Palmer actually invest in it. Hopefully, there will be a clear Division II in the next couple years and Jacksonville will have a team in that Division II with a supportive owner. 5-7k a game is an attainable goal that would but them second in attendance for NASL and in the upper quarter of USL.


RP Funding is now the named sponsor officially as well.

https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2017/07/17/armada-fc-to-make-big-announcement-this-week.html

[pierre]

Good to hear the new owner mention the need for a permanent stadium.

Hopefully Palmer is able to handlet this role. Frisch was in over his head.

[tufsu1]

^ I disagree. Frisch just figured out their model was not working financially. He was trying to build a major-league franchise in a minor-league enivronment.