Mark Woods: NBA at arena is too long of a jump shot

[Wacca Pilatka]

In fairness to Jacksonville - and I understand and agree with the complaints about citizens' and leaders' all too often manifesting a lack of vision (a description that thankfully does not apply to Mayor Brown) - there have been times in the recent past that with the proper leadership, Jacksonville went for the gold, against the odds, and got it.  The NFL expansion drive and the Super Bowl are two examples. 

[duvaldude08]

In fairness to Jacksonville - and I understand and agree with the complaints about citizens' and leaders' all too often manifesting a lack of vision (a description that thankfully does not apply to Mayor Brown) - there have been times in the recent past that with the proper leadership, Jacksonville went for the gold, against the odds, and got it.  The NFL expansion drive and the Super Bowl are two examples.

Those are perfect examples. When we got the Jags, Jacksonville was literally a little country town no one had heard of. NOBODY wanted us to have a team and they are still upset today that we got it. That is also why we are getting picked on now. Its kind of like " I told you they shouldve got a team." A little faith and confidence goes a long way. I think we have just been beat down by the media the past three years and Jacksonville has completely lost its swag. We use to have faith. Now we just claim defeat without even trying.

[Rynjny]

Well I'm doing my part to support the city and the Jaguars... Hope others would do the same also. If the Jaguars succeed, then that might start some NBA,MLB and other development talks. BTW the ticket price for the Jaguars are so affordable compare to other city.

[I-10east]

Atlanta lost their NHL team to Winnipeg because the market wasn't/couldn't support the franchise. Their NBA team has had major attendance problems in the past few years, despite winning more games, and is rumored to be up for sale. If attendance continues to decline, despite Atlanta being a valuable market for the NBA, it's conceivable that the Hawks could possibly relocate as well. It is really hard for a market to support that many major franchises.

Wow! ATL lost the NHL two times Atlanta Flames to Calgary in 80'. Note to self, ATL cannot support a NHL team. If the NHL knows what's good for them they should be more teams in Canada/Northern U.S. No more teams in the Southern U.S. Hartford vs. Quebec (two cities that lost their teams) that sounds like hockey; Dallas vs. Florida, not so much. I'll be very surprised if the new Winnipeg Jets have any problems with attendance. They REALLY care about the sport up in Canada.

As for Jax getting a NBA team anytime soon, we probably would be another Vancouver and lose our team very shortly, and that's coming from the most optimistic Jax homer on MJ. Face it, Jax is NOT a basketball city! Look at the comparasion between the Jax Sharks attendance, and the Giants. Whoever said that instead of a NBA team, we should worry about keeping the Jags here, I TOTALLY agree with them 100%.

[rjp2008]

I read the article and he makes a valid point that OKC is booming more because of rail, convention center, bike trails and other smart planning and building. However...

Downtown Jacksonville NEEDS to get more athletic at the local level. Where are all the pick-up games at night? Many outdoor courts I've seen are rather sorry looking and lack night time lights. San Marco library court, the gym in riverside, indoor gym at JTB YMCA only a few really good spots.

I'd like to see the Sports Bureau he created promote more leagues, invite more local tournaments, etc. An NBA push might help that.

[dougskiles]

So, who on this board would buy season tickets for an NBA team?  I think the average price is somewhere around $40 and there are 41 home games.

I love college hoops but just can't get excited about the NBA.  I think they have too many games that are meaningless.  I would much prefer for us to stay on the rotation for NCAA tournament games and hopefully move up to hosting regional finals.  Final Four would be great, but these days you need to hold it in an indoor football stadium.

But ... Not much harm in dreaming about it for those who love the sport.  My dream would be for Jax to host the Summer Olympics - with the final mile of the marathon coming across the Hart Bridge and around the track at Everbank Field... Oh forgot - we don't have a track at Everbank.  Oh well so much for that one.

[blandman]

NBA in Jacksonville won't work...even if it did, it would be nearly impossible for them to compete, unless Mark Cuban was footing the bill.  Salaries are way too high, though that may change soon...

Why not something more modest, like an MLS team?  Salt Lake City, Columbus, and Portland have teams...and these all seem like great small cities that Jacksonville should be measuring itself up against...not ATL.  The only teams in the 64-team Premier Development League (the Destroyers' league) that come from cities on par w/ Jax are New Orleans, Nashville, Ottawa, and St. Louis.  As the MLS looks to expand, Jacksonville seems like a reasonable target.  And, the MLS season (Mar-Oct) doesn't completely overlap the NFL's (Sep-Jan)...though the NBA won't be overlapping any other leagues this year...

[blandman]

So, who on this board would buy season tickets for an NBA team?  I think the average price is somewhere around $40 and there are 41 home games.

Exactly...not many...

Even if they were $20/game, you could still get Jag's season tickets for 1/3 the price.  And good luck winning games when you're selling tickets for $20.

[cityimrov]

So, who on this board would buy season tickets for an NBA team?  I think the average price is somewhere around $40 and there are 41 home games.

Exactly...not many...

Even if they were $20/game, you could still get Jag's season tickets for 1/3 the price.  And good luck winning games when you're selling tickets for $20.

So what you guys are saying is that Mayor Brown's first initiative to get an NBA team is to find out a way to increase the wages of the people who live here so they can spend money for the games?  Especially those who live in the lower income brackets of the North & Westside community who love the game?

Doesn't sound like a bad start to me.

[thelakelander]

If his priority is to build up a community with an economic environment capable of winning and supporting a NBA franchise, in the future, then I'm all on board.

[JeffreyS]

If his priority is to build up a community with an economic environment capable of winning and supporting a NBA franchise, in the future, then I'm all on board.

+1

[comncense]

I don't think it's a fair to compare the Sharks to the Giants. I know both are cheap tickets but the AFL is actually backed by the NFL and ESPN. So you still have the marketing power and presentation push that's backed by the NFL. I personally haven't attended either though. Though I'm happy to see the Sharks having the success they are having this year, I'd say the Jaguars do more and bring more to this city than the Sharks and Giants combined.

As far as sports go, I'd rather see things happen for the city that would further secure the Jaguars chances of staying in Jacksonville. From support of the residents, as well as the business community financial backing. Anything after that is just icing on the cake in my opinion. 

Oh yeah, get us a Lingerie Football League team while you're at it too Mayor Brown

[Ocklawaha]

As for Jax getting a NBA team anytime soon, we probably would be another Vancouver and lose our team very shortly, and that's coming from the most optimistic Jax homer on MJ. Face it, Jax is NOT a basketball city! Look at the comparasion between the Jax Sharks attendance, and the Giants. Whoever said that instead of a NBA team, we should worry about keeping the Jags here, I TOTALLY agree with them 100%.

I completely disagree with your conclusions, and this from the man least likely to EVER attend a basketball game, NBA, NCAA, or High School, hell I'd rather watch cotton grow.

That we can't manage what we have seems to be the gist of about 75% of the comments posted on this thread, most of which are thinly veiled as supposed "logic" and "reality," etc... I submit to all of you that this is our single biggest enemy in Jacksonville, it isn't IF or WOULD we support a team, business, or concept, it's the fact that so many of our citizens are ready to hang up the closed sign before the idea is even fully developed. What a bunch of defeatists. Had Robert E. Lee, Isoroku Yamamoto, George Washington or Martin Luther King taken such a view we wouldn't even know their names today.

So we are NOT a basketball city? Really? Based on what?

Based on memory? Could it be you are too young to remember the JU Dolphins with one Artis Gilmore who rose from complete obscurity to challenge UCLA for the national title? A city that was painted with Dolphin Green? Chants of "Artis, Arits, Artis..." rising from the city streets as the fever caught hold and even I turned to watch a game on TV.

Based on minor league attendance? That's funny, sort of like saying nobody rides our PCT buses so streetcars will fail. Or better yet, remember when our hockey team went to the "national finals" against the "Fayetteville Fire Ants?" Call it snobbery if you wish, but I'm not going across the street to watch my city of 1.4 million play a game against "Fire Ants." Give me a challenge, send our team against Atlanta, Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, or Phoenix, but Fayetteville? REALLY? Biloxi and Dogpatch could be next. Yeah, we must not be a hockey city either...

I happen to like our Jags and our "fish" so somebody call me when the Sharks are playing Palatka because only then will you have an apples to apples comparison.

[OCKLAWAHA

[Ocklawaha]

...And for even more defeatist fun, check out the TU comments....

"Ocklawaha - we are 4 years away from losing a NFL team."

As is every other city in the league, some with worse attendance or unhappy owners and not one of them with ownership more determined to keep the team at home then the Weavers.

"Just a month ago 4 people were shot downtown..."

Downtown shootings? Really? How about on 6/28, fatal shooting in Panama Park, or 6/22 in Normandy, or 6/23 in Woodstock,  or 6/29 in Glynlea, or 6/29 in Ortega Bluff, or 6/30 in Talleyrand, or 7/5 in East Arlington, or 7/10 in Paxon, or or 7/28 in Atlantic Beach, or 8/3 in Cedar Hills, or... Guess we'd better all stay indoors?

"We can't sustain a rail system ( see skyway )."

A failure on the part of JTA to complete a downtown people mover project to a single one of its proposed terminals hardly counts as a failure of the city to sustain a rail system. BTW, sustain it how? Profit? Like the money we make off of Roosevelt, or JTB each year?

"and the "trolley" doesn't count as streetcars,"

This is VERY TRUE, as the author of the city's streetcar plan some 30 years ago, I'm happy to say the streetcars FINALLY have a funding source as of May 2011. And we should see some action on a heritage streetcar system within 5 years.

"Macy's and Sac's won't be sticking around long enough to branch out to Jacksonville anyway as many of the big department stores are failing."

Its a simple evolution of the marketplace that has continued since the dawn of time. If not Macy's or Sac's it will be another in name or form, they certainly won't avoid us because our 1.4 million people are SO different from anybody else's 1.4 million. Of course we could just shoot ourselves in the foot and convince our citizens and our chamber that there is no use in trying.

"You seem to forget that this city is a military city, with many of the families bringing in median or less than median pay."

And the single largest block of consumer/customers that drive retail is our high schooler's, a group I seriously doubt equal the pay and benefits of our military.

Bottom line, I see the glass is half full, and see no reason why Jacksonville should not strive to be the city of dreams. Certainly as grownup's we all realize that you win some and lose some, but we need a winners attitude in everything we do.

OCKLAWAHA

[duvaldude08]

Oh yeah, get us a Lingerie Football League team while you're at it too Mayor Brown

SMDH