L.A. stadium builder: Jaguars, Bills on short list

[thelakelander]

LOS ANGELES â€" The company behind a plan to lure the NFL back to Los Angeles said Tuesday the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills are the first teams it will try to relocate.

Majestic Realty Co. managing partner John Semcken said the company is still considering at least seven franchises for a new stadium some 25 miles east of Los Angeles.

They also include the San Francisco 49ers, San Diego Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, St. Louis Rams and Oakland Raiders.

But he said the Jaguars and the Bills are at the top of the list because they play in small markets that tamp down their earning potential and because they have little hope of building larger venues in their home regions.

"Jacksonville and Buffalo are two teams in very, very small markets, he said. "They are teams that have either outdated stadiums or are having trouble filling their stadiums or both."

The Jaguars have struggled to fill Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in recent years and had seven of eight games blacked out on local TV this season. The Bills, meanwhile, have been playing some home games in Toronto in an effort to expand their market.

Jaguars majority owner Wayne Weaver has categorically denied that the team was on the market. On Monday, he told the Times-Union that the team is "not for sale."

Bills owner Ralph Wilson also has dismissed any suggestion that he will sell or move his team.

Semcken said Majestic won't approach the 49ers, Chargers or Vikings as long as they are seeking stadium plans of their own. He said it would not be fair to interfere with their efforts to remain in their home markets.

Semcken also said Majestic chief executive Ed Roski's preference is to find owners willing to sell their franchise to a consortium of investors that he would lead, rather than buying a minority stake in a team that would move with its existing majority owner at the helm.

http://jacksonville.com/sports/football/jaguars/2010-01-05/story/la_stadium_builder_jaguars_bills_on_short_list

[Reaper man]

Hopefully Weaver will change his mind once enough money is woven in front of his face. ;p

[CS Foltz]

Naw..............Mr Weaver would never sell right? He won't change coaches so he must have the Jag's set up a lost income division..............they are losing money real well for him! No one wants to go see a loser lose and if they had a winning record, were in the playoffs or atleast the hunt on a regular basis..........stadium would be full all of the time! But what do I know.

[ac]

This was from Yesterday AM:
http://jacksonville.com/sports/football/jaguars/2010-01-04/story/jaguars_dealing_with_the_fallout

Wayne Weaver disputed reports surfacing over the weekend that said the team could be purchased by the highest bidder.

“We’re not for sale,” said Weaver, clearly irritated. “We’re trying to re-energize this fan base and get them excited about the team.”

Don't know how many times the man has to say it, but go ahead and roll in the garbage.

[copperfiend]

The Raiders had lower attendance this year than the Jaguars. They played in an old, extremely outdated stadium. They played in LA for a time and are still probably the most popular team there.

[reednavy]

The Raiders just seem to be the most obvious choice. Of course, the saying there not going after San Diego could be a shield because they really are. I'm just not buying that crock as it is a lot harder moving a team across the country than moving it just a couple hundred miles within the same state.

[Wacca Pilatka]

Hopefully Weaver will change his mind once enough money is woven in front of his face. ;p

Why would you hope for that?

[Wacca Pilatka]

This is nothing more than puffery to try to depress ticket sales in Jacksonville.  Unfortunately, with some people it seems to work.

[cline]

they are losing money real well for him

Really?  For what he put into (paid for) the team initially and what they are worth now, he's not "losing" any money.  

[Sportmotor]

Hopefully Weaver will change his mind once enough money is woven in front of his face. ;p

and the city losses more jobs becuase of it.

Yea that would be progress!

[Wacca Pilatka]

It's being discussed (secondhand and unconfirmed, I know, but it makes a lot of sense) that Majestic Realty is employing a PR firm whose express purpose is to deflate Jacksonville into the illusion that it's a foregone conclusion that the team will move, thereby depressing ticket sales (or more accurately at this point, blunting a ticket sales recovery).

I am renewing and upgrading my seats first thing when the ticket price details become available.  I'll do whatever I can do to head off this campaign against my town, even if it is not my town by the technical qualification that I live 600 miles away.

I've said it before: Do not give them what they want.

And for the record, anyone who thinks it's a joking matter that the Jaguars leave or lose or whatever combination of both: Whether you care about football or not, whether you think the presence of pro sports in a city is an economic benefit or not, losing the Jaguars would be an enormous national embarrassment to Jacksonville, and the #1 fact outsiders would associate with the city.  And that would damage the city's image for a long time, possibly hindering its non-organic growth and its retention of current residents.  

In getting on this soapbox, I'm not in any way trying to say a football team is more important to the city's future or development than transit or historic preservation or good urban planning.  I fell in love with Jacksonville for the river and the landscapes and the architecture, not the football team.  I'm saying I know the city will be enormously, long-term embarrassed if the team leaves.  It would be psychologically devastating from an image perspective.  Just about all anyone ever asks me about Jacksonville, given that I'm not exactly subtle about my love for the city, is whether/when the football team is leaving.  If you don't want to see this city get hurt, there's no humor in "LOL, hopefully they leave!"

[heights unknown]

Hopefully Weaver will change his mind once enough money is woven in front of his face. ;p

What!?!?

"HU"

[heights unknown]

Weaver has got to be getting tired of no fan support, severely lackluster ticket sales, and a team that's beginning to constantly not make the cut (should have kept Coughlin).  Hope he is honest in saying the Jags are not for sale, but don't forget other owners over the years who have said the same thing and then you wake up in the morning and your football team is gone; don't trust rich people at all.  Money talks, bulls*** walks!

"HU"

[Wacca Pilatka]

I don't think the days of not making the cut will continue, HU; the 2009 draft was brilliant.  Our third-round picks would be first-rounders if the draft were rerun today.  The foundation for the next great Jaguar team is in place, and I've no reason to expect less than excellent talent evaluation from Gene Smith going forward.

[thelakelander]

ouch!

But he said the Jaguars and the Bills are at the top of the list because they play in small markets that tamp down their earning potential and because they have little hope of building larger venues in their home regions.

At the very least, that last part is true. Building a bigger stadium for Jacksonville football fans would be like building a bigger public library for high school drop-out crystal meth tweakers. It's just not going to get much use.

It's kind of a strange announcement, and if I were a Jaguars or Bills fan, I'd take it a little personally.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Los-Angeles-announces-intentions-to-poach-the-Ja;_ylt=AvlS2fnMT3vM.2mArdJpW_xDubYF?urn=nfl,212070