Yahoo: Best seats at NFL game might be poolside in Jacksonville

[finehoe]

It isn't the Cleveland Deck, it's the Clevelander Deck -- and I don't think they want their name disassociated with what they're doing.

I understand that.  I'm just sayin' that your average person doesn't associate the term "Cleavelander" with South Beach glamor, no matter how cool the actual product may be.

[RattlerGator]

And your "average" Jags fan isn't going to be running over to Section 124 and taking the elevator up to the 5th floor to hang out on the Clevelander Deck. Okay?

The Clevelander is trying to expand their "brand" beyond South Beach. They want to take this concept national, so . . . think less South Beach and more party vibe, party vibe, party vibe.

The Jags aren't trying to re-create South Beach in a stadium. All they are doing, as an article astutely pointed out, is identifying an entirely new market, and an approach that will appeal to that market: a younger, lucrative market. That the Clevelander has joined up with them is noteworthy and something we should be celebrating. Anytime Jacksonville is associated with something cutting edge, fresh and exciting -- that's likely to be a very good thing.

[blizz01]

And dagummit, why is Beach Road Chicken on Atlantic?  And why do those taxis have to be called Gator City?  Oh, and get rid of Arlington and Springfield too - kind of confusind since I only think of cemeteries & Simpsons.......

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

If you want the opinion of a 'true' fan, then The Clevelander is a perfect name for the moment.

I'll explain....

Cleveland + NFL = Browns  /  Cleveland Browns Stadium = Factory of Sadness  /  Factory of Sadness = Current state of the Jag's W/L record  /  ergo:  Clevelander is Perfect until we start winning.  After that, we can work on a re-branding.

[finehoe]

Anytime Jacksonville is associated with something cutting edge, fresh and exciting -- that's likely to be a very good thing.

And I'm not disputing that, I'm just pointing out that due to the associations that already exist with the term "clevelander", it will make it a little more difficult to brand this new venture as cutting edge, fresh and exciting than perhaps it would have been with a different name.

[Ocklawaha]

Clevelander? Clevelander? REALLY? Clevelander?

Hell when the Nazi's take over the world, I want to be the Burgermeister of Cleveland!

[RattlerGator]

I'm just pointing out that due to the associations that already exist with the term "clevelander", it will make it a little more difficult to brand this new venture as cutting edge, fresh and exciting than perhaps it would have been with a different name.

It could be that we're talking past one another. You're writing as if the name is somehow optional -- it isn't. The Clevelander South Beach markets itself as the ultimate one-stop destination experience and they are trying to take that brand and extend it into sports venues.

The name is the brand; they aren't going to toy with that. They want "Clevelander Deck" to become synonymous with an in-stadium party venue and I think they are well on their way to doing just that. I'm a bit surprised that we seem to be stuck on some literal take that [1] Clevelander must mean Cleveland rather than [2] an iconic party venue.

The people paying for the cabanas, etc. -- they know precisely who The Clevelander people are and what kind of vibe they are bringing to Jax (and, more than likely, to other NFL venues in the future).

http://www.clevelandersports.com/clevelanderdeck/

The difficulty will not be in branding this new venture as cutting edge, fresh and exciting because that's what The Clevelander, an iconic name, is already known for. The mere fact that many of us (apparently) didn't know that is irrelevant.

[Charles Hunter]

Known by whom "as cutting edge, fresh and exciting"?  I think that at least some (sizable?) portion of the audience automatically connects "The Clevelander Deck" with a city in Ohio, and not some South Beach hot spot, IS a problem with marketing.

[Tacachale]

If there's a marketing problem here, it's in the fact that the "South Beach hotspot" named itself the "Clevelander" to begin with. It doesn't seem to have hurt them much so far.

[Charles Hunter]

Good point, Tacachale! 

[ProjectMaximus]

I think both sides of this debate have merit. Clevelander indeed isn't the ideal name. But then again if the club wants to spread its brand awareness then it's got to start somewhere and as time goes on the name association for the public at large will slowly shift. And ultimately, that's the point...for both the Jags and the Clevelander.

[mtraininjax]

You cannot help but notice how young the crowds have become at Jaguars games. It's great to see. That is the future of the franchise.

Where is the 3-ring circus, fire breathers, and elephants? How about putting Jaxson on a trapeze across the stadium while the game is going on down below? Cirque du soleil coming next? How about a roller coaster that consumes the entire upper deck, since its rarely full with most of those people hanging out in the Bud Zone (which really does take away fans from their seats and should be sold as standing room only instead, its coming when the Jags start winning too)

Lamping, Kahn and the other people selling attractions are throwing (explative) against a wall to see what sticks. The pools, the club, the chicks dressed for a concrete version of south beach, is all derived to bring an NBA player's dream strip club to the NFL for daytime use.

None of these tactics are needed, IF, and its the mother &*#$%) of all IFs, Lamping, Khan, Bradley and Caldwell can put a winning team on the field. These sideshows are apparently needed to get people into the stands. Winning solves everything with the franchise. Call this sideshow the "Westsider", because all its done is put the "Bestside" on display for the entire world. It ain't pretty.

[fsquid]

The same deck minus the pool exists at Cowboy Stadium

[jaxjaguar]

Mtraininjax.... 7 of 11 starting players on offense are rookies this year... If Storm Johnson ends up starting it'll be 8 of 11. The new front office is completely cleaning house and building from the ground up. Wins will come with more experience. To say the team isn't already showing drastic improvement over week 1 would be completely ignorant. There is merit to your comment that wins put butts in seats, but we're at least heading in the right direction this season.

[duvaldude08]

Mtraininjax.... 7 of 11 starting players on offense are rookies this year... If Storm Johnson ends up starting it'll be 8 of 11. The new front office is completely cleaning house and building from the ground up. Wins will come with more experience. To say the team isn't already showing drastic improvement over week 1 would be completely ignorant. There is merit to your comment that wins put butts in seats, but we're at least heading in the right direction this season.

You actually acknowledge his comments?