Sep 17, 2009
Not even these glitter uniforms can stop the Black-out
It was really only a matter of time before we reached the first locally blacked-out game of the season. There were some scares last week in Arizona and Cincinnati, and although the NFL has decided to show leniency the black-out rules in are still in effect. All of this apparently spells bad news for anyone looking to watch the Jacksonville Jaguars on television this weekend. Why do I say that? Well, when the mayor of Jacksonville is pleading with fans to buy tickets, the probability of a sell-out is not that good. More from Jacksonville.com,
Add pitch man to the job duties of Jacksonville mayor John Peyton.
His product: Jacksonville Jaguars tickets.
Peyton attended the Jaguars workout on Wednesday to conduct a made-for-television appearance in which he urged local fans to purchase tickets.
“The viability of this team in our city is critically important. The Jaguars have become a part of the fabric in this city,” Peyton said. “It’s hard to imagine not having this team here. We need to do a better job citywide supporting this team.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, approximately 17,000 tickets remained available for Sunday’s home opener against Arizona, which means a local television blackout seems a certainty.
“Those who can make it, we appreciate your support, and those that can’t unfortunately for whatever reason, we hope things get better and you’ll be able to join us,” Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. “We plan on putting out a good product.”
17,000 tickets available. For the home opener. Against a team that played in the Super Bowl last year. Wow. Doesn’t this immediately cause concern for the viability of the Jaguars as a commodity in the city of Jacksonville? Apparently not, according to the team owner, Wayne Weaver,
The club’s current ticket woes bring into question the future of the franchise, but Peyton expressed optimism about Jacksonville’s long-term prospects. Peyton also mentioned that several local businesses are working with Weaver to “encourage participation with this team.”
Everyone can argue economic instability all they want. Jacksonville not being able to sell more than 17,000 football tickets to their home opener is a much larger problem than a “setback due to the recession”. There has to be questions into the future of the football franchise. Especially considering this that actually lists Jacksonville’s median income as being higher than the median income for the United States. Is that data nine years old? sure. But there hasn’t been any catastrophic event to cause Jacksonville’s situation to deteriorate at pace more rapid than anywhere else in America; people in Jacksonville just don’t seem to be big football fans.
More importantly, where do they go from here? If there are 17,000 tickets available to the home opener, what do those numbers look like in week 7? Or if the Jags play a cellar-dweller team? For those who are wondering, the Jaguars ranked 29th on Forbes NFL team valuation list.
One comment
Housston is the newest team.. Circa 2002. And the reason why they positioned a team in Jacksonville, is because the NFL wanted to expand to make a team in Northen Florida to attract fans not only from Central/Northern Florida, but to accomidate South Georgia as well. So the bottom line is, it’s not up to just the City of Jacksonville to suport, its up to that entire area to come support. What those fans probably don’t realize is, that if ticket sales keep sinking, and the team were to relocate, they would have an empty 67,000 seat stadium, and possibly never have another shot at an NFL franchise. Just like the Winnepeg Jets of the NHL.. they put a team in Nashville, Columbus, and Atlanta before they even remembered that Winnepeg even exists. It’s hard to get a franchise back to the city it once failed in. So, if you read this, and you live in the area, GO SUPPORT YOUR TEAM!
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