Jaguars State of the Franchise 2018

[Steve]

Are there any other businesses in Jax that have the payroll the Jags pay their staff, coaches, and players?  Probably 60+ 7 figure+ salaries...  another 30 or so 6 figure and a multitude of very good paying jobs... all living and spending in Duval... at least part time.

https://overthecap.com/contracts/jacksonville-jaguars/

Very few if any. Well Put.

[Steve]

That is because Jax has a pretty weak corporate base.  Lots of cities have arenas with corporate sponsorship and no pro team.  Before the Thunder moved to Oklahoma City the arena there was sponsored by Ford.  There was no primary tenant of any kind.  10% of something is better than 0% of anything.

On this we agree and you proved my point:

Regarding naming rights of minor league arenas:

The Wichita Arena's naming rights sold for $350,000/year
The OKC Arena's naming rights sold for $540,000/year (as you said, this was before The Thunder came to call it home.
Chesapeake Energy has naming rights now in OKC, sold for $3M/year with a 3% increase each year.
EverBank paid $4.3M for the naming rights.

I believe I said that the naming rights would maybe go for 10% of what they are now, which is about right (give or take). That's why I'm fine with the naming rights money going to the Jaguars. They are the reason they deal is what it is. Would it be nice to get 10% of it? Sure, I'll take money. I would also agree that the COJ should likely get something for Daily's Place. While the Jags developed it, I can't fathom the naming rights value is materially different because of the Jaguars.

But, I'd also say if we were that concerned, then we probably shouldn't have legislated that the Arena naming rights never be sold, either.

With regard to a weak corporate base, while I wouldn't use the term "weak", I do fundamentally agree with you. We don't have the corporate base that even some other mid-sized cities have. While I love that our largest employer is the US Navy, I don't see Uncle Sam sponsoring a naming rights deal or other typical corporate charitable donations.

[Wacca Pilatka]

^ To clarify on the Ford Center, the naming rights purchase came not from Ford Motor Co. but from some Oklahoma alliance of Ford dealerships - essentially the equivalent of the "Southern Ford Dealers" group in southeast GA and northeast FL.  That and the lack of a pro team is why it wasn't a particularly big-dollar naming rights deal, as Steve noted.  The minor league hockey team, the Blazers, was the primary tenant there at the time, and they were in that era a big draw by minor league standards.

[Wacca Pilatka]

With regard to a weak corporate base, while I wouldn't use the term "weak", I do fundamentally agree with you. We don't have the corporate base that even some other mid-sized cities have. While I love that our largest employer is the US Navy, I don't see Uncle Sam sponsoring a naming rights deal or other typical corporate charitable donations.

On a similar note, I remember talking in 2010 or so to a friend who worked in corporate sales for the Jaguars, and he observed that CSX had always been very supportive of the team, but it made no shareholder sense for them to put CSX Field on the name of the stadium - "no one's going to see that on TV and say 'I think that's the train I'll ship my products on next time.'"

[Steve]

With regard to a weak corporate base, while I wouldn't use the term "weak", I do fundamentally agree with you. We don't have the corporate base that even some other mid-sized cities have. While I love that our largest employer is the US Navy, I don't see Uncle Sam sponsoring a naming rights deal or other typical corporate charitable donations.

On a similar note, I remember talking in 2010 or so to a friend who worked in corporate sales for the Jaguars, and he observed that CSX had always been very supportive of the team, but it made no shareholder sense for them to put CSX Field on the name of the stadium - "no one's going to see that on TV and say 'I think that's the train I'll ship my products on next time.'"

Amen:

If you look at the companies based here, it's an odd mix that tends to cater a little to B2B:

CSX
Fidelity National Financial
Black Knight
Landstar
Rayonier

Obviously Southeastern Grocers and Stein Mart are here, but the former isn't really in a position to write that sort of check, and Stein Mart, while not doing terrible, isn't the sort of company that writes naming rights checks.

[Wacca Pilatka]

^ It's a much different mix than Jacksonville had when it was contending for a team in the late 70s-early 90s and had Barnett, First Union of Florida/its predecessors, Independent Life, Charter, et al. as corporate power players.

(A similar story to why downtown has unoccupied office space and no new office skyscrapers for 25 years.)

[Kerry]

With regard to a weak corporate base, while I wouldn't use the term "weak", I do fundamentally agree with you. We don't have the corporate base that even some other mid-sized cities have. While I love that our largest employer is the US Navy, I don't see Uncle Sam sponsoring a naming rights deal or other typical corporate charitable donations.

On a similar note, I remember talking in 2010 or so to a friend who worked in corporate sales for the Jaguars, and he observed that CSX had always been very supportive of the team, but it made no shareholder sense for them to put CSX Field on the name of the stadium - "no one's going to see that on TV and say 'I think that's the train I'll ship my products on next time.'"

How many people are buying oil and gas by the super tanker load from Chesapeake Energy?  They sponsor the arena in OKC because they compete in the region for employee talent.

Also, when the Ford Center was renamed the City got to keep the amount of money in the naming rights deal with the Thunder that they were making from the non-team deal - so the City didn't lose any money and the team go their share of value they created.  THAT is how you do it.

[Steve]

With regard to a weak corporate base, while I wouldn't use the term "weak", I do fundamentally agree with you. We don't have the corporate base that even some other mid-sized cities have. While I love that our largest employer is the US Navy, I don't see Uncle Sam sponsoring a naming rights deal or other typical corporate charitable donations.

On a similar note, I remember talking in 2010 or so to a friend who worked in corporate sales for the Jaguars, and he observed that CSX had always been very supportive of the team, but it made no shareholder sense for them to put CSX Field on the name of the stadium - "no one's going to see that on TV and say 'I think that's the train I'll ship my products on next time.'"

How many people are buying oil and gas by the super tanker load from Chesapeake Energy?  They sponsor the arena in OKC because they compete in the region for employee talent.

Also, when the Ford Center was renamed the City got to keep the amount of money in the naming rights deal with the Thunder that they were making from the non-team deal - so the City didn't lose any money and the team go their share of value they created.  THAT is how you do it.

With regard to your first point: Between the four major sports, there are 109 Arena/Stadiums. Of those, 92 of them have a corporate name. Of those, there are literally TWO that don't sell to consumers in at least one channel of their business. Chesapeake Energy and SAP (I have the list if you really want it).

With regard to your second point: The original intent WAS that the city and team would split the revenue. The Goal was that the Naming Rights deal would come in at about $5M/year. It came in at $3.5M/Year, which is what the Jags' portion of the deal would be. So yes, the City passed on $1.5M/year. Personally, I don't believe the COJ would change materially from $1.5M a year. Further, the Jags in 2010/2011 were not in great financial shape (by any measure), so if we could help out by tossing in $1.5M a year (Which would not be General Fund Money), let's do it.

[pierre]

I always thought that Fanatics would have made sense as a naming rights partner.

[Wacca Pilatka]

I always thought that Fanatics would have made sense as a naming rights partner.

^ Seems logical, but I wonder if its position as an official team shop manager for the entire NFL and for other individual franchises precludes this.

[Steve]

I always thought that Fanatics would have made sense as a naming rights partner.

^ Seems logical, but I wonder if its position as an official team shop manager for the entire NFL and for other individual franchises precludes this

Fanatics, while (now) big enough to do it, for most of it's history wouldn't write this sort of check.

Now, you might be right as the NFL has a small ownership stake in the company. They do however have merchandise deals with individual teams, separate from the NFLShop.com agreement.

[blizz01]

Wouldn't Jaguar be a no-brainer?

[Steve]

Wouldn't Jaguar be a no-brainer?

Apparently not, since the naming rights on the place were not purchased for multiple years. Plus, then being a British company owned by an Indian company, they likely weren't interested.

[KenFSU]

Wouldn't Jaguar be a no-brainer?

Apparently not, since the naming rights on the place were not purchased for multiple years. Plus, then being a British company owned by an Indian company, they likely weren't interested.

We've offered Jaguar the opportunity in the past to be softly associated with the team as the "official car of the Jaguars," including as a make-good after we straight-up stole their IP for the original Jaguars logo, but they've never been particularly interested. The presumption is they don't feel like Jacksonville is particularly on-brand with their image.

They were probably right in 1995, but the times they are a-changing.

https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2018/06/18/ultraluxury-car-brand-opens-dealership-in.html

[KenFSU]

P.S. Best phase-by-phase details of the Cordish development that we've seen so far, courtesy J Magazine.

Looks like the first phase, which Khan wants to have in full, concurrent construction by spring, does in fact include the parking garage (with, wait for it, an urban park on top).

Also interesting that the Cordish development that the Jags are drawing the strongest parallel to is the Power & Light District in KC, which has done genuinely amazing things for their downtown, but has been a bit of an albatross for the taxpayers.

Good article with some quotes from Lamping here: http://www.jacksonville.com/opinion/20180617/lotj-no-time-like-present-for-25-billion-development