Caution: LA is coming to steal your NFL team in 2011

[mtraininjax]

This problem cannot and will not be fixed with individual fans buying tickets. Sellouts were caused when BUSINESSES purchased blocks of seats and boxes. The empty seats and boxes are due to the consolidation of banks and local businesses, and piss poor marketing attempts of the Jaguars to sell to the local businesses.

[aaapolito]

Hey Wayne on your way out to "L A" don't forget Your Promise to the City of Jacksonville and it's people that you would STAY!

What about the City and the people of Jacksonville's promise to the Jaguars that the team would be supported here in Jax?  The Weavers and the Jaguars have been loyal to Jax, but it's the people and "fans" that have not reciprocated.

[thirdeye]

This problem cannot and will not be fixed with individual fans buying tickets. Sellouts were caused when BUSINESSES purchased blocks of seats and boxes. The empty seats and boxes are due to the consolidation of banks and local businesses, and piss poor marketing attempts of the Jaguars to sell to the local businesses.

Could not agree more. In other NFL cities it is very difficult for the "common man" to get good tix to their games. Most NFL stadiums have huge blocks of their best seats purchased by businesses. The average fan is relegated the end zones or the upper bowls.

No wonder the endzones in most stadiums are rowdy.

[JeffreyS]

There is a problem with how our city recruits business to town. Our plan is to try an attract business's who will take our money (JEDC) instead of those who want the best communities to operate from. Therefor we spend our money greasing corporate palms instead of investing in better quality of life in our city.

The companies who just want to be paid off to be here IMO would be less likely to invest in tickets that improve the Jacksonville experience. Those companies who place a higher value on the community in which they operate are more likely to participate in the goings on of the community.

To be realistic we are so far behind the curve in educating our work force, transit and cultural endeavors we will still need to be in the bribery game for a while.  We do have some natural advantages the river, the beach, the golf, the weather, gateway city in Florida with less retirees than the other metros, the port and the military are a good start.

This city can be the guy who gets the girl because of what it has going for it and not because he paid her.

[copperfiend]

Revive the pride, did we ever have any to began with?

Did you live here in 1993? How about after the Jaguars won at Denver in 96? We had more people welcome the team back to Jacksonville at 1am after that win than we probably will this Sunday against Houston.

[mtraininjax]

Our Chamber/JEDC/DDA they all are challenged to get businesses down here. JeffreyS, I agree with you, they really stink at selling the benefits of what our great city has to offer. As a result, we see the Tampa, Orlando, Miami markets flexing their muscle in the legislature, and we, get the 4th serving, which normally is little if anything.

I googled the poulation rankings for cities, and Jacksonville a very suprising 11th in the nation in terms of population for the entire city (Duval County = Jacksonville). In the data I collected for our company to market to businesses, we saw that there are only about 300 companies in Jacksonville with more than 100 workers. That leaves a lot of small businesses and individuals.

We need to grow that number of companies with over 100 workers, that should be the goal of the Chamber/JEDC/DDA, give away money to bring in more companies, because the value of every $1 spent is that the money gets recycled into the economy 3-4x before it is saved somewhere else. We need more larger companies, because they affect every small business owner.

One of my tenants tells me she is working at a local restaurant and she is only bringing home 25 bucks a night in tips, this time last year she was at 100 a night. When individuals are scared, they ain't buying Jags tickets, so that is when Businesses need to step up to the plate and purchase them.

[copperfiend]

I googled the poulation rankings for cities, and Jacksonville a very suprising 11th in the nation in terms of population for the entire city (Duval County = Jacksonville). In the data I collected for our company to market to businesses, we saw that there are only about 300 companies in Jacksonville with more than 100 workers. That leaves a lot of small businesses and individuals.

I think there are alot of people employed by the military too.

[mtraininjax]

I think there are alot of people employed by the military too.

Sure there are, more than 40,000 and the governments employ many people too, but its on the backs of businesses that brought the team here and will keep the team here.

[Wacca Pilatka]

Absolutely true.  Barnett, First Union, and CSX put the famous 1993 club seat ticket drive over the top.  Now that some of the companies that were driving forces behind getting the Jaguars in the NFL are subsidiaries of outside companies and/or have less local autonomy, much more of the ticket-buying burden has fallen on individual fans.  The stadium could still be filled (or very close to it) in 2004-2008 under these circumstances but not this year.  Getting the corporations more involved is crucial to leading the Jaguars' future in the city out of critical condition.

[Tripoli1711]

So, proportionally....we're doing quite well!

It's good to be #1 in attendance (per capita) - See, there's always a silver lining!

I was formerly in line with this way of thinking, but it is not actually true.  The numbers for a Philadelphia or a Chicago are in a vacuum and do not consider other events.  Yes, perhaps per capita we do the best with football attendance.  For Philadelphia, factor in how many people go to the 81 Phillies games a year, the 41 76ers games a year and the 40whatever Flyers games a year.  Then add in Temple, Villanova, UPenn, Drake and whatever the other "big 5" school there is and how many football and basketball games a year attend those.  Then figure out your per capita statistics and it reveals itself as another Jacksonville excuse.  There is no "comparatively we aren't doing that bad".  We ARE doing that bad.  People need to go to games, period.

[stjr]

FYI, the informal Philly basketball "Big 5" are Temple, UPenn, Villanova, LaSalle, and St. Josephs.  Temple, Penn, and Villanova also field conference football teams. Drake isn't in Philly.  You are probably thinking of Drexel.  Not a member of the original Big 5 put now appears to play most or all of those teams anyway.  There are also many other smaller colleges in and around Philly (in both Pa. and NJ) such as Philadelphia University (formerly Philadelphia Textile), Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore.  And, major graduate and specialty schools, such as Jefferson Medical University.

[copperfiend]

So can we factor in Flagler College, Edward Water, JU and UNF?

[tufsu1]

Then add in Temple, Villanova, UPenn, Drake and whatever the other "big 5" school there is and how many football and basketball games a year attend those. 

I assume you mean Temple, Villanova, Penn, LaSalle, and St. Joe's....they are the Big 5....and as STJR stated, some throw in Drexel too....personally I'd drop 'Nova since they aren't even in the City (and I hate the Big East)

[thelakelander]

Here are a few renderings of LA's proposed stadium, which will be about 25 miles east of downtown.

[Keith-N-Jax]

Jerry Jones eat your heart out. Nice!!! Who wouldn't want to play there. Will it happen though, and is LA going to support a losing team.