Jaguars New Stadium?

[Steve]

Honestly - I think the NBA would have been a much better fit for Jax.

In some ways I can see that. It's hard to build an entertainment district around 10 days a year. A little easier in basketball and hockey where it's around 40, and the people demand isn't overwhelming like filling the stadium.

But, with an NBA Team 2 hours away it wasn't happening. And now it definitely won't happen.

[pierre]

Honestly - I think the NBA would have been a much better fit for Jax.

The sport with the highest average ticket price? No.

[thelakelander]

Plus Jax isn't exactly in the middle of nowhere. The Magic are only two hours away.

As for building an entertainment district, you can't help but struggle to build one a mile away from anything else, while also razing most of the buildings that would have been suitable for restaurants, bars, clubs, etc.

[Snaketoz]

Me too!

[Kerry]

More home games
Less seats
Cheaper tickets
Smaller stadium requirements
Easier to find corporate sponsors
Better international presence
Better TV exposure for the City

And that is just off the top of my head.

The Magic being 2 hours away is meaningless.  The Mavs cried foul when the Thunder moved (2.5 hours away).  The NBA can function successfully with a smaller fan base which is why in several cities the NBA is the only game in town.

Portland
OKC
Sacramento
Salt Lake City
San Antonio
Memphis
Orlando

Anyhow, the NBA isn't coming to Jax.  Mayor Brown looked into it and the answer was No.

[Tacachale]

More home games
Less seats
Cheaper tickets
Smaller stadium requirements
Easier to find corporate sponsors
Better international presence
Better TV exposure for the City

And that is just off the top of my head.

The Magic being 2 hours away is meaningless.  The Mavs cried foul when the Thunder moved (2.5 hours away).  The NBA can function successfully with a smaller fan base which is why in several cities the NBA is the only game in town.

Portland
OKC
Sacramento
Salt Lake City
San Antonio
Memphis
Orlando

Anyhow, the NBA isn't coming to Jax.  Mayor Brown looked into it and the answer was No.

*Jacksonville has a long history of football
*Jacksonville has no history of supporting basketball

[Steve]

More home games-correct
Less seats-correct
Cheaper tickets-incorrect. NBA is generally more expensive.
Smaller stadium requirements-correct but the same as 2
Easier to find corporate sponsors-firmly disagree. NFL is far easier because of TV ratings.
Better international presence-in Asia yes. Everywhere else it's on par with the NFL
Better TV exposure for the City-not even close to true. NFL is WAY stronger in TV, particularly for smaller market teams.

The Magic being 2 hours away is meaningless.  The Mavs cried foul when the Thunder moved (2.5 hours away).

That works because of the size of the DFW market. Having two smaller markets near each other would make it tough.

The NBA can function successfully with a smaller fan base which is why in several cities the NBA is the only game in town.

Portland
OKC
Sacramento
Salt Lake City
San Antonio
Memphis
Orlando

No argument there.

Anyhow, the NBA isn't coming to Jax.  Mayor Brown looked into it and the answer was No.

Correct-if we didn't have a team then I could see it.

[thelakelander]

The Magic being 2 hours away is meaningless.  The Mavs cried foul when the Thunder moved (2.5 hours away).

Oh, it matters. Take a look at the market sizes. A NBA team in Jax would be a huge failure. However, the NBA already knows this so there's no chance at it happening.

[KenFSU]

Less seats-correct

Less seats, yes, but fewer tickets, no.

Bare minimun for an NBA arena is 17,000.

Multiply that by 41 regular season games, and the market needs to absorb about 700,000 tickets annually.

TIAA Bank is currently configured for 67,000 for Jaguars games.

Multiply that by 8 regular season games (we'll ignore London), and the market only needs to absorb 536,000 tickets annually.

So, in reality, we'd need to move 30% more tickets annually, in less desirable conditions (Sunday afternoon games vs. weeknights). It's already a minor miracle we're moving as many NFL tickets as we do in a city this size.

NFL tickets tend to run more expensive than NBA tickets, particularly in smaller markets, so the actual local spend for NFL & NBA tickets might even out, but then you'd also need to throw in parking and concessions for an additional 31 games.

In terms of what the market can and will support, the NFL is a better fit for Jacksonville. We've got a 100+ year history of supporting football. Not sure we're necessarily a basketball city.

Years ago, before the London thing came around and the Jags weren't exactly packing the stadium, I kind of loved the idea of playing one Jaguars preseason game in Orlando each year in exchange for the Magic playing a handful of home games in Jacksonville. Seems like it would mutually benefit both organizations and create a lot of new regional fans for both teams. Would never happen, but I think it's a win-win.

[minder]

I don't think we will see any relocations for the foreseeable future.

The three recent lots - Oakland, St. Louis and San Diego have had a range of problems - legal, fan attendance, teams playing in dilapidated stadiums. The league needs to go through a period of stability now.

Additionally, the NFL needs to be careful, because if they keep forcing moves, then how the hell can they convince cities to give up public money when theres every chance the team could be away 25 years later?

I'd say the end game is just ongoing renovations. The stadium is in a good downtown location as well. Why bother with projects like Lot J also if you plan to shift the team in 10 years?

The NFL like Jacksonville a lot more than people realise because being a town with just one pro sports team its much easier to access public and corporate money as opposed to cities with multiple teams where all of that is divided. Thats why the NBA like a lot of the aforementioned smaller one team markets.

Forget the NBA btw.

[Kerry]

And I'm considered the negative one who doesn't think Jax is capable of anything.  Go figure.

[thelakelander]

I wouldn't call market based reality a negative. Perhaps Jax's ability to support more professional sports teams changes down the road with additional growth. In the meantime, we'll be fine.

[Lostwave]

If lot J moves forward, and I am pretty sure it will, then I don't see them ever building a completely new stadium, remodel is the only option.  Without Lot J, we could build a stadium on lot J, M, N and while construction is happening we could play in the current stadium.  If they fill lot J, we would have no where to build a new stadium, except on the existing footprint.  That would mean we would be without a stadium for 2-5 years.

Plus daily's place integrates so well into the stadium, I think several more major remodels will have to be the plan moving forward.

[pierre]

I don't see a new stadium (and the few billion price tag attached) ever being a reality, regardless of Lot J.

They will follow the Miami model. A roof over the seats added. Adding things like field level suites to the current seating structure. And probably opening up some concourses so it doesn't feel as much like you are in a submarine.

[KenFSU]

If lot J moves forward, and I am pretty sure it will, then I don't see them ever building a completely new stadium, remodel is the only option.  Without Lot J, we could build a stadium on lot J, M, N and while construction is happening we could play in the current stadium.  If they fill lot J, we would have no where to build a new stadium, except on the existing footprint.  That would mean we would be without a stadium for 2-5 years.

Plus daily's place integrates so well into the stadium, I think several more major remodels will have to be the plan moving forward.

Great points!