Jaguars State of the Franchise 2018

[KenFSU]

I like the Jags being here, and a long time season ticket holder(with a 4 game blip last year) but he could move the team tomorrow and while I won't be happy, it will take me about by 5 minutes to get over it. I don't think it would hurt Jax at all. Probably help in the long term.

I disagree.

The team is deeply interwoven into the fabric of our community, spanning generations, and I think it would really do a number on Jacksonville to lose that institution.

The Jags give Jacksonville identity.

Externally with outsiders, sure, but even more importantly, internally as a city.

The Jags are the glue that unites an 800 square mile metro that is, for all intents and purposes, a collection of smaller, very different cities operating under a consolidated government.

You walk around Hemming Park, or the beaches, or the Town Center, or the Orange Park mall, or Mayport, or UNF, and you see Jags gear everywhere, and you hear people talking about our team. And debating the draft. And celebrating wins. And commiserating the losses.

You wear a Jags t-shirt at LaGuardia, or O'Hare, or Hartsfield-Jackson, you're going to be approached by other Jacksonville travelers.

And you go to the games on Sunday afternoon, and you see an entire cross-section of the community, coming together, cheering for their local team, and screaming the name of our county at the top of their lungs.

That's irreplaceable.

I think what makes this current team so special is how closely the team's identity mirrors that of the city - the scrappy underdog, minimized by the national media, with a chip on its shoulder and ready to prove the doubters wrong. Led by a blue-collar, bologna-sandwich-eating coach, and a quarterback that is pure Jax Beach.

Plus, the guys love it here, and want to be here, and I think that's infectious and trickles down to every aspect of our community, from business development, to racial relations, to overall civic pride.

By any chance, did you think up the "Jaguaring" idea?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrevDYTvX58

Yes.

So what's your rationale that if the Jaguars were to vacate Jacksonville, it wouldn't hurt the city at all? Or, that it would actually be good for the city? Purely because of the economic subsidies?

[KenFSU]

I take Khan at his word, but until I see cranes over Lot J I'm going to be very nervous. I can't help but look at the "transparency" at each year's "State of the Franchise" as a setting of the table for a departure down the road. This year Lamping even said, referencing the "Team Teal" year, something along the lines of "we made a marketing decision not to campaign under the idea that 'if you don't support us, something bad might happen,'" which... to me sounds an awful lot like something bad might happen even though they're not saying it.

It feels like things get better every year, and then Lamping comes out and shows us the PowerPoint of Destiny that explains why Jacksonville has such a hard time being "financially viable." The team is winning, the organization is insanely profitable, local revenue is up... but we aren't viable because we aren't keeping pace with much larger markets. So we need to develop the shipyards/Lot J/Met Park in order to create more local revenue... and yet there's been no activity beyond a new set of renderings every year. Is it a stretch to think that one day we could wake up to the London Jaguars saying "look, we tried! We proposed new revenue streams but the city wouldn't pay ball and/or the market wouldn't support what we needed to do?"

Maybe I need a tinfoil hat.

I totally agree on Lamping's Powerpoints. They certainly have a way of taking the joy out of the State of the Franchise at times. I think the Jags are very selective about the data that they present as well. I hate the chart that shows that the Jags used to have the highest ticket prices in the league, but are now amongst the lowest. It's a very misleading chart. Those first couple of years were insanely inflated due to the presales and the pent-up excitement about the NFL selecting Jacksonville. They were never sustainable for a market this size, and it's silly to use them as a basis for comparison in 2018. I also think that it's in poor taste to imply that Everbank is inadequate after the city invested $100 million in improvements in the last couple of years.

I also agree with your point that the Jaguars' future in Jacksonville is going to hinge on the city's willingness (and ability) to play ball on the Shipyards and Lot J.

Ain't gonna be cheap to keep them in Jacksonville, but that's the nature of the NFL, as shitty as it is. Especially with the NFL's revenue sharing model that puts so much pressure on small markets to pull their weight and earn their equal piece of the pie.

[Steve]

If he bought some stadium somewhere in North America, then I'd be concerned. There are still so many logistical challenges with a team in London it's not even funny. Yes, the potential money has a way of "easing" some of those, but I'm still not seeing this at any point soon.

I think the NFL would need to be in a position where they could base 2 (or ideally 4) teams in Europe, as the logistics for these teams (and their opponents) would be brutal. If you have 2 teams over there, then you can start to ease the number of trips across the pond - if you go over, then you play both teams, when they come over they play 2-3 in a row on the road, etc.

I also think that in order for this to happen, they are likely going to try out another city besides London to compliment it (perhaps Munich or Berlin). Not sure I can see 2 teams in London that then would have to fill the place a total of 20 times.

I wonder if the travel thing isn't vastly overblown. This is the NFL. It's not like they're operating on some razor-thin margin. And as for the physical toll on the players... a first-class flight to London can't be any more taxing than playing a football game.

Not sure if I'd say it's overblown. The NFL Players Association already has made a point in the past regarding east coast-west coast trips. I recognize that east coast to London isn't THAT different than say NY-LA. But, West Coast to London is a legit haul. If the Chargers or 49ers have to do that on a regular basis, that will take a toll.

[Tacachale]

I take exception to some comments a few days back that said effectively that Jacksonville needs to hurry up and give Khan the development deal he wants, or face losing the Jags. What Jacksonville really needs to do is work with Khan on a realistic deal that makes sense for the city, weighing the benefits to the team against the costs of the deal and the opportunity cost of what else we could do with the money. If there's a deal out there that works out, grab it. If not, pass. Not all deals that Khan may pitch are good for the city.

Case in point the original Shipyards deal from 2015. Folks forget that as flashy as it was, it was a *horrible* deal for the city. It would have essentially entailed paying Khan to take our land, cleaning it up at our expense, and subsidizing the amphitheater and the practice field (which he would own), allowing him to sell of the rest in pieces at his leisure, and *tie all the tax money generated by the new development in the development itself*.

Fortunately, after the administration changed brought in better negotiators, that deal was axed. So then they worked on things that the Jaguars had really wanted to begin with, in a way that had an actual return for the city - we contributed to the amphitheater and practice field (which the city owns, rather than the Jags). The current plans in Lot J and whatnot look like the next progression from that. Those plans are not at a stage where we can actually know what the impact will be on the city, because it's so conjectural at this point. There are no concrete plans or cost estimates, so we don't know yet. Hopefully it turns out awesome and brings a lot of new activity to the Stadium District where none existed before. But if it's not, then we need to say no.

[ProjectMaximus]

Not sure if I'd say it's overblown. The NFL Players Association already has made a point in the past regarding east coast-west coast trips. I recognize that east coast to London isn't THAT different than say NY-LA. But, West Coast to London is a legit haul. If the Chargers or 49ers have to do that on a regular basis, that will take a toll.

In a decade it will just be a 2-3 hour shuttle on the hyperloop. 

[CityLife]

I take exception to some comments a few days back that said effectively that Jacksonville needs to hurry up and give Khan the development deal he wants, or face losing the Jags. What Jacksonville really needs to do is work with Khan on a realistic deal that makes sense for the city, weighing the benefits to the team against the costs of the deal and the opportunity cost of what else we could do with the money. If there's a deal out there that works out, grab it. If not, pass. Not all deals that Khan may pitch are good for the city.

I presume this is directed towards my earlier posts? If so, in no way did I imply that the City should give Khan whatever he wants. Merely that the City and various public agencies need to be ready to play big league ball and hold up their end of the partnership.

[JaxAvondale]

If he bought some stadium somewhere in North America, then I'd be concerned. There are still so many logistical challenges with a team in London it's not even funny. Yes, the potential money has a way of "easing" some of those, but I'm still not seeing this at any point soon.

I think the NFL would need to be in a position where they could base 2 (or ideally 4) teams in Europe, as the logistics for these teams (and their opponents) would be brutal. If you have 2 teams over there, then you can start to ease the number of trips across the pond - if you go over, then you play both teams, when they come over they play 2-3 in a row on the road, etc.

I also think that in order for this to happen, they are likely going to try out another city besides London to compliment it (perhaps Munich or Berlin). Not sure I can see 2 teams in London that then would have to fill the place a total of 20 times.

I wonder if the travel thing isn't vastly overblown. This is the NFL. It's not like they're operating on some razor-thin margin. And as for the physical toll on the players... a first-class flight to London can't be any more taxing than playing a football game.

Not sure if I'd say it's overblown. The NFL Players Association already has made a point in the past regarding east coast-west coast trips. I recognize that east coast to London isn't THAT different than say NY-LA. But, West Coast to London is a legit haul. If the Chargers or 49ers have to do that on a regular basis, that will take a toll.

The current CBA expires after the 2020 season. So, there would have to be huge concessions made by both sides to get the language in the next CBA.

Article 12 of the CBA goes into what is considered AR (All Revenues). You can get a good idea of the revenue that Khan can generate by owning Wembley.

https://nfllabor.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/collective-bargaining-agreement-2011-2020.pdf

[Lostwave]

Everbank letters came off the stadium yesterday.  Unfortunately they went into a dumpster.  I wanted to grab one, but they are huge.  Even the little letter r was taller than 6'.

I have some photos I will try to post.

[KenFSU]

Everbank letters came off the stadium yesterday.  Unfortunately they went into a dumpster.  I wanted to grab one, but they are huge.  Even the little letter r was taller than 6'.

I have some photos I will try to post.

Similar to the Greyhound logo that just got shipped to a warehouse in Orlando, you'd think that there would be some value to retaining stadium signage in case we ever decided to open a local sports museum.

[Tacachale]

I take exception to some comments a few days back that said effectively that Jacksonville needs to hurry up and give Khan the development deal he wants, or face losing the Jags. What Jacksonville really needs to do is work with Khan on a realistic deal that makes sense for the city, weighing the benefits to the team against the costs of the deal and the opportunity cost of what else we could do with the money. If there's a deal out there that works out, grab it. If not, pass. Not all deals that Khan may pitch are good for the city.

I presume this is directed towards my earlier posts? If so, in no way did I imply that the City should give Khan whatever he wants. Merely that the City and various public agencies need to be ready to play big league ball and hold up their end of the partnership.

I don't remember who posted what exactly, but yeah - the city should be ready to play big league ball, but that means determining what's really a good deal, and what's rolling over. I don't think folks appreciate how close we were to giving away the store in 2015 when this was all first proposed.

[Lostwave]

Everbank letters came off the stadium yesterday.  Unfortunately they went into a dumpster.  I wanted to grab one, but they are huge.  Even the little letter r was taller than 6'.

I have some photos I will try to post.

[KenFSU]

^Great pics!

Thanks for sharing!

We've talked a lot about whether the market is there for new office space downtown.

Here's a look at where things currently stand:

https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2018/05/02/q1-office-reports-kbj-moves-into-bank-of-america.html

[remc86007]

I can't believe some local bar owner hasn't taken the letters to have a massive illuminated sign that reads: Beer.

[KenFSU]

Per the JBJ:

1) The Jags plan to present a final development plan for Lot J by the end of the year.
2) Parking isn't a top priority for the Jags with Lot J. From the sounds of it, the parking garage might come later. They'd rather focus on a dense, walkable, pedestrian-friendly development than accommodate parking and vehicular traffic.
3) The city will soon begin adding in clean fill over the contaminated areas of Lot J
4) Unlike the Shipyards, the Jags are committed to coming up with the best design for the property and then addressing the contamination, rather than working around the existing contamination as they design

[KenFSU]

Mark Lamping says he hopes a deal on team's huge sports-complex development can go before City Council this year.

Jacksonville Jaguars President Mark Lamping said he hopes an economic development deal can go before City Council by the end of the year so work can start on a "new neighborhood" of apartments, offices, hotels, entertainment venues and convention space in the sports complex area of downtown.

"I'm really confident we're going to get to a very good place that not only puts the project at a reasonable risk-reward for us, but will make a lot of sense to the city as well as the taxpayers," Lamping said in a meeting with the Times-Union editorial board...

Lamping said the goal is to have as much of the construction under way simultaneously as possible, adding "if we can in essence bring a neighborhood up at the same time, it has a much better chance of being successful."

"What we don't want to see happen is one project is done one year followed by a second one a year later and third one two or three years after that," he said. "We want to get as much going as we can at the same time."...

Khan is teaming up with the Cordish Companies for Lot J, which would have an entertainment venue with restaurants and gathering areas similar to what Cordish has built near sports venues in other cities. Lamping said it is a 50-50 partnership.

He said it will require support as well from the city, which will be part of the negotiations.

"There's a reason there aren't a lot of [construction] cranes in downtown Jacksonville," he said. "It's not as if there's an unlimited number of developers out there ready to write huge checks, because there still is some risk involved.

Lamping also mentioned that the Jags are putting up some pretty insane numbers. 90% renewal rate for existing season ticket holders, plus over 10,000 new season tickets sold in the offseason. Best in the league.

Full story:
http://www.jacksonville.com/news/20180608/jags-president-talks-downtown-ticket-prices-and-more-games-in-london