BUY JAGS TICKETS!!!!!!!!!!!

[mtraininjax]

just the first to admit it.

Not true, San Diego Chargers announced that the preseason games would be blacked out.
http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/story/Chargers-Warn-of-TV-Blackouts/mhbX1qdIfUmbHgAHoFS_fw.cspx

Weaver does not control blackouts, the NFL does that, so if by some miracle a Jag game gets sold out, he has no control over lifting the blackouts.


But if the Jags play like they did last night, that will not be an issue.

[Shwaz]

Looks like San Diego, Cleveland, Oakland and Detroit are all facing blackouts this season.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4437452

Goodell: Some teams to face blackouts
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Associated Press
ASHBURN, Va. -- Avoiding local television blackouts will be a challenge as the NFL approaches its first full season in the economic downturn, commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday.

During a visit to the Washington Redskins, Goodell was asked specifically about the Jacksonville Jaguars, whose season-ticket base dropped from 42,000 to about 25,000 this season. The decline is such that the club might not even bother asking for extensions in hopes of avoiding blackouts this year.

Goodell said Jacksonville, one of the smallest markets in the league, is "one of the markets where we're seeing some challenges from ticket sales coming into the 2009 season."

"And we'll have other markets that'll have those challenges. It's all part of the challenges that we're seeing in the economy, and what our clubs are going through," Goodell said. "Our clubs have been working hard in the offseason to create other ways to try to get people in the stadiums and to have policies that are a little more flexible, and hopefully they're going to pay dividends for us."

The San Diego Chargers had an exhibition game blacked out for the first time since 2006 and will have Friday's game blacked out as well. They say regular-season blackouts could be on the way as well. Other teams that could have trouble selling out their home games include the Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders, who both had blackouts last season.

The Cleveland Browns nearly had their first blackout since 1995 for a preseason game last month, but Goodell said some of the August ticket sales could be attributed to the nature of exhibition football.

"I think the fans have seen that the quality of the games aren't up to NFL standards, so I think that's a factor," said Goodell, who is looking at the possibility of reducing the preseason and expanding the regular season.

Goodell had a meeting planned in Washington with NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith. Goodell said it was more of a get-together than a formal negotiating session. The NFL and the union have been talking about a new labor agreement in hopes of avoiding a lockout in 2011.

"Anytime you're negotiating you take a step forward and maybe a step back," Goodell said. "We're communicating, we're trying to get information to the union leadership, make sure they understand the challenges we're facing as a system and as a business and make sure they understand that so we can design a system that addresses the issues for the players and the coaches and the game."

Ethan Albright, the Redskins' interim player representative to the union, said this week he was telling his teammates to save up their money because the word from Smith is "the owners are taking all the steps to set up for a lockout in 2011."

"Listen, I think everybody in the NFL wants to play," Goodell said. "The owners want to play, the players want to play. It's our job to get a deal done. That's why I keep saying a lockout is not a strategy, nor an objective. What we want to do is get an agreement that works for the players and the coaches and the game and allows to continue to grow it."

Asked about Michael Vick, Goodell said the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback is "making the right kind of progress." Goodell said he will consider Vick for full reinstatement to the NFL by no later than Week 6 of the regular season.

"A lot of those issues I'm focusing on are off the field. How is he dealing with the transition? Does he have his family relocated? Does he have the right people around him helping him make decisions?" Goodell said. "Tony Dungy's been incredibly helpful. Donovan McNabb's been helpful. I talk to Michael on a weekly basis, if not more. I'll be meeting with him again sometime in the near future. ... He's focused on the right things."

Goodell said he's been hearing a lot of questions from players about the league's steroids policy, rules changes, and the possibility of a lockout. An unusual question came from Redskins rookie defensive lineman Jeremy Jarmon.

"He was talking about how we have rules to protect the quarterbacks," Goodell said. "And that you need more rules to protect defensive ends."


Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

[JeffreyS]

St. Louis is having trouble also and had most of their games last year blacked out.

[reednavy]

St. Louis is having trouble also and had most of their games last year blacked out.

They've sucked for years though, and deserve it. We have up and down years and even when on an up year we still face them. Such a shame.

[cdb]

St. Louis is having trouble also and had most of their games last year blacked out.

They've sucked for years though, and deserve it. We have up and down years and even when on an up year we still face them. Such a shame.

But we always applied for extensions or the Weavers bought out the tix. People got spoiled and knew that most likely the blackout would be lifted and they could watch from home. This year will be different and people will be forced to either go to the game or listen on the radio. Hopefully this will bring people back to reality and they will get out there and buy tix. I heard on Jags show last night on WOKV that they are even offering 3 game packages now and you can pick the 3 games. Hopefully that will help us get at least 3 games on TV.                BUY TICKETS!!!! GO JAGS!!!!

[Lucasjj]

It could be worse, at least we have a chance to see them on TV. Although a different sport, the Chicago Black Hawks were not even put onto TV in the Chicago market until recently.

According to Wikipedia...the owner was vilified by Blackhawks fans for forbidding Blackhawks home games to be shown on TV unless they were picked up by national broadcasters, which only happened when the Blackhawks made the playoffs. As he explained it, he felt that broadcasting regular home games was unfair to season-ticket holders.

This was their policy until the 2007 season.

[cdb]

It could be worse, at least we have a chance to see them on TV. Although a different sport, the Chicago Black Hawks were not even put onto TV in the Chicago market until recently.

According to Wikipedia...the owner was vilified by Blackhawks fans for forbidding Blackhawks home games to be shown on TV unless they were picked up by national broadcasters, which only happened when the Blackhawks made the playoffs. As he explained it, he felt that broadcasting regular home games was unfair to season-ticket holders.

This was their policy until the 2007 season.

Thats crazy..... I wonder how they do it in baseball. All those games are on TV all season and not all those games are sold out.

[ProjectMaximus]

It could be worse, at least we have a chance to see them on TV. Although a different sport, the Chicago Black Hawks were not even put onto TV in the Chicago market until recently.

According to Wikipedia...the owner was vilified by Blackhawks fans for forbidding Blackhawks home games to be shown on TV unless they were picked up by national broadcasters, which only happened when the Blackhawks made the playoffs. As he explained it, he felt that broadcasting regular home games was unfair to season-ticket holders.

This was their policy until the 2007 season.

Thats crazy..... I wonder how they do it in baseball. All those games are on TV all season and not all those games are sold out.

The NFL is the only league with a blackout rule based on attendance. Local channels own rights to broadcast their city's baseball/basketball/hockey games so they'll generally show all the games. It's a hot topic for debate (not just here in Jax) about whether the NFL's rule is antiquated (est. in the early 70s).

As for the Blackhawks, they showed the games this past year and interest (therefore attendance) rose significantly. That could be a result of everyone getting to see the games and feeling more involved, or it could be because they were a very good team this year...

[ProjectMaximus]

Up to 12 teams facing blackouts:

According to NFL and team sources, the league showed club owners at their meeting in Chicago on Aug. 19 a video slide with the names of 10 to 12 teams that may not sell out every game. A game that is not sold out within 72 hours of kickoff cannot be broadcast locally.

Last year, only three teams â€" Oakland, Detroit and St. Louis â€" suffered blackouts. Collectively, those three teams had nine games blacked out, just one more than the eight regular-season games the Jacksonville Jaguars alone are expecting to contribute to this year’s total. The Jaguars have already said that in all likelihood no contest in their eight-game home schedule will sell out this season.

http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/63444

[blizz01]

The Jaguars have already said that in all likelihood no contest in their eight-game home schedule will sell out this season.

I'd be willing to bet that we wouldn't black out a home play-off game this season (assuming we made it that far) like Buffalo did against us in our youth.

[Shwaz]

The more I read the comments and excuses from the people of Jax the more obvious it is that we don't deserve a team. We just don't. 

[Shwaz]

Maybe not that much...

he stadium was built using portions of the historic Gator Bowl Stadium, itself dating from 1949. However, all of the elements included from the older stadiumâ€"the pedestrian ramp system and the more recent West Upper Deck section of the complexâ€"dated back only to 1982. Construction started January 3, 1994 and the new stadium opened on August 18, 1995 with an exhibition game with the St. Louis Rams. Total construction time was under 20 months and total cost was $134 million â€" $60 million of which was provided by the city of Jacksonville.

Maybe the city can broker a deal to sell the stadium to which ever city buys the team?

[cdb]

I think the Jags are doing the right thing. Black out the games... And hopefully people will understand they have to but tickets to keep the team here. There are definitely 60-70K true fans here, and once the games are blacked out and we are winning or playing decent football, the stadium will fill up. I do believe the Jags marketing department is pretty weak though. They should be selling 4 tickets to every bar in Jacksonville to use as marketing for the bars, they can give them away, etc.... that would be close to 2-3K tickets.... baby steps... the 3 game package is a good deal too, you get to pick the games... i think that package will assure us of 3 televised games. we'll see how it goes...... either way i got my season tix and will be there for every game except tonight... had to give them away to a co-worker due to being on-call.... thank god its only pre-season....

[Shwaz]

Weaver has no choice... the blackout policy is law and the team isn't even close enough in ticket sales to ask for any extensions. 25K tickets sold is bleak. How long can a team survive like this? How long will the NFL let them try?

[cdb]

I am a huge soccer fan, but this is a shame. The Seattle Sounders of the MLS have more season tickets sold, for more than twice the home games than the Jags. And this is supposed to be a football crazy city... Hahahahaha...