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Jacksonville has the same problem but we manage to sell over 60,000 tickets each game and we have a smaller population.
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Originally Posted by iMarvin
The Jaguars haven't had a blackout since '09. We're doing fine.
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Originally Posted by iMarvin
No we're not. We haven't had a blackout since '09.
Good ol' ESPN loves to perpetuate how poorly the city of Jacksonville supports it's team but the Jags are averaging 92% attendance this year (62,000 seats) with a team that is struggling on the field and averaged 94% in 2010. If anyone is going to LA it'll be the Raiders, especially since Al Davis's son just wants to cash out and sell the team. Outside of the Raiders, the Vikings have the next worst scenario with an owner who's fed up with the lack of local support for a new facility.
I don't think anyone's mentioned Louisville. Its metro consists of about 1.2 million people and it has no major league teams. But I think the problem with Louisville might be its proximity to Indy and Cincy.
Good ol' ESPN loves to perpetuate how poorly the city of Jacksonville supports it's team but the Jags are averaging 92% attendance this year (62,000 seats) with a team that is struggling on the field and averaged 94% in 2010. If anyone is going to LA it'll be the Raiders, especially since Al Davis's son just wants to cash out and sell the team. Outside of the Raiders, the Vikings have the next worst scenario with an owner who's fed up with the lack of local support for a new facility.
Exactly!! These people are just mad we have a team and need to get over it! I think the Raiders will move too.
In 2010, Jacksonville's attendance was comparable to Pittsburgh's (and better than 8 larger markets). So far this year, Jacksonville is better than 5 larger markets. IMHO, sports media enjoy giving the small markets a hard time (with the exception of historic small market teams like Green Bay). It is as if the so called "small markets" have to prove themselves with absolute loyalty and record sellouts (while the larger markets get a free pass).
LA is a good example of this. That city (who cares about its size) has proven more than once to be a sorry NFL market. However, it will get another team most likely because "America's second largest city should have a NFL team". My question is "why should it"? What will be done differently THIS time around?
Anyways, taking a team away from Jacksonville would be a huge mistake. That city is soooooo proud of their team. I do believe it was the first time that a major league sport actually took north Florida seriously. This meant a lot to the folks in Jacksonville (for years their city lived under central and south Florida's shadows).
Louisville is interesting...
As for Louisville, I don't know. Great city, but a VERY poor state. Also, the Colts and Bengals might try to block such a prospect.
Birmingham is interesting too...
I do believe that Birmingham recently built a 50,000 or so seat stadium. Could this place be expanded by 20,000 seats? Still though, when I think of NFL Sunday in Alabama; I have visions of ultra conservative Christians protesting the Sunday morning tailgate parties. I could be wrong though.
The Dolphins do alright for how terrible they are. And the Heat do there thing.
They rank 29th in the NFL for attendance this season (bottom 3). Going back 5 years, they rank in the bottom half of the league in attendance each year with a few appearances at 31. The highest they ranked was 16th (2010). So if you're definition of "alright" is for one of the largest MSAs in the US to rank 16th in the league in attendance at BEST (mostly in the 20s and 30s), then sure... they're doing "alright." Frankly, I think it's pretty bad given the legacy of the franchise, the size of the metro and the fact that they've been at least competitive many times in the past few years.
The Heat do alright. Obviously with the additions they made prior to 2011, they did very well this past year. Generally, they rank in the middle of the pack. When they're competitive, they rank higher. I wouldn't worry about the Heat.
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Jacksonville had some real embarrassment a few years ago with the Jags being blacked out locally
Quote:
Originally Posted by iMarvin
The Jaguars haven't had a blackout since '09. We're doing fine.
Two years isn't exactly a long time, even though I did acknowledge it was a few years ago.
I'm sure we have different definitions of "fine." Jacksonville ranks in the bottom 6 for 2011 attendance. Right down there with Miami and Tampa Bay. To me, that's not so fine.
I'm not saying Jacksonville is moving. Don't count me in that crowd. I'm just saying that the Florida teams (a state home to many transplants) are generally on the lower end of attendance figures.
In 2010, Jacksonville's attendance was comparable to Pittsburgh's (and better than 8 larger markets). So far this year, Jacksonville is better than 5 larger markets. IMHO, sports media enjoy giving the small markets a hard time (with the exception of historic small market teams like Green Bay). It is as if the so called "small markets" have to prove themselves with absolute loyalty and record sellouts (while the larger markets get a free pass).
LA is a good example of this. That city (who cares about its size) has proven more than once to be a sorry NFL market. However, it will get another team most likely because "America's second largest city should have a NFL team". My question is "why should it"? What will be done differently THIS time around?
Anyways, taking a team away from Jacksonville would be a huge mistake. That city is soooooo proud of their team. I do believe it was the first time that a major league sport actually took north Florida seriously. This meant a lot to the folks in Jacksonville (for years their city lived under central and south Florida's shadows).
Louisville is interesting...
As for Louisville, I don't know. Great city, but a VERY poor state. Also, the Colts and Bengals might try to block such a prospect.
Birmingham is interesting too...
I do believe that Birmingham recently built a 50,000 or so seat stadium. Could this place be expanded by 20,000 seats? Still though, when I think of NFL Sunday in Alabama; I have visions of ultra conservative Christians protesting the Sunday morning tailgate parties. I could be wrong though.
You all are seriously operating in some type of alternate universe. It's not that the big market teams get a pass, it's the fact that ticket sales is not the be all, end all of how a team makes money.
The Dallas Cowboys could decide to not sell a single ticket this season and they would still make more money than the Jaguars. They sell so much merchandise. Their TV ratings are astronomical.
The truth is the Jaguars are in EXTREME dire straits. Anyone who says otherwise just doesn't know what is going on. You post those attendance stats as though they're proving football in jacksonville is healthy... Jacksonville is squarely in the bottom third of the NFL in attendence. Unlike other teams though they don't have the large media market to make up for this.
Fact: Jacksonville saw every one of their games except one blacked out in 2008, all of them blacked out in 2009, and none blacked out in 2010 but only due to price maneuvering which helped to place their income from tickets sales among the worst in the league.
Football is not working in Jacksonville. Their team will not last there, it will likely be in LA within the next few years.
Sorry if this disappoints you. But this is reality.
Also some more reality checks. The Cincinnati bengals are already not the most healthy team financially, the chances that another team is moved within 100 miles of cincinnati is ZERO! There will never be a football team in louisville. This is common sense.
Also Birmingham Alabama? Again. Are you people all mad? If Birmingham got an NFL team it would instantly become the second smallest market to have an NFL team in the entire country behind green bay... and unlike green bay it won't have about century of history and a fan base that stretches across the entire country. Also a town that is crazy about college football in the deep south. You people really think this is a recipe for success?
Look sorry to burst your bubbles, but get real. The NFL will not be expanding above 32 teams for the foreseeable future. There are already teams that exist that are not doing all that well, in the future if a city wants an NFL team they'll have to lure one of those poor performing franchises to their city. LA is now serious about getting a stadium built and getting an NFL team, the jaguars will def be their first target.
Yeah, I will have to go with Hampton roads. There is a huge drought in pro sports but plenty sports fans.
-Need: The only D 1-A teams in the state are Virginia and Virginia Tech that is over 4-5 hours away. I think the diversity in the transient fans make for a full stadium (see:Washington). Also it is within a days drive (8 hours) of tons of professional teams.
-$$$- Lets also not forget the decent economy that they have as well. People will pay for a stadium and tickets.
-Transportation: Norfolk has a light rail, and the beach is not that great during football season but the hotel capacity is still there.
-If the team is title 'Virginia' that encourages fans from across the state (which is the largest state without a pro team BTW)
I can come up with a ton of reasons why a Virginia metro should have a team.
You all are seriously operating in some type of alternate universe. It's not that the big market teams get a pass, it's the fact that ticket sales is not the be all, end all of how a team makes money.
The Dallas Cowboys could decide to not sell a single ticket this season and they would still make more money than the Jaguars. They sell so much merchandise. Their TV ratings are astronomical.
The truth is the Jaguars are in EXTREME dire straits. Anyone who says otherwise just doesn't know what is going on. You post those attendance stats as though they're proving football in jacksonville is healthy... Jacksonville is squarely in the bottom third of the NFL in attendence. Unlike other teams though they don't have the large media market to make up for this.
Fact: Jacksonville saw every one of their games except one blacked out in 2008, all of them blacked out in 2009, and none blacked out in 2010 but only due to price maneuvering which helped to place their income from tickets sales among the worst in the league.
Football is not working in Jacksonville. Their team will not last there, it will likely be in LA within the next few years.
Sorry if this disappoints you. But this is reality.
Also some more reality checks. The Cincinnati bengals are already not the most healthy team financially, the chances that another team is moved within 100 miles of cincinnati is ZERO! There will never be a football team in louisville. This is common sense.
Also Birmingham Alabama? Again. Are you people all mad? If Birmingham got an NFL team it would instantly become the second smallest market to have an NFL team in the entire country behind green bay... and unlike green bay it won't have about century of history and a fan base that stretches across the entire country. Also a town that is crazy about college football in the deep south. You people really think this is a recipe for success?
Look sorry to burst your bubbles, but get real. The NFL will not be expanding above 32 teams for the foreseeable future. There are already teams that exist that are not doing all that well, in the future if a city wants an NFL team they'll have to lure one of those poor performing franchises to their city. LA is now serious about getting a stadium built and getting an NFL team, the jaguars will def be their first target.
Much of this is true and will ultimately end up killing pro-sports in this country. Lack of revenue sharing (and high salaries) are the main reasons why the NBA season won't happen this year. The larger markets simply won't share the $$$s with the smaller markets. Bobcat's owner (Michael Jordan) told Australian sports media that 23 NBA teams are losing money (that's almost the entire league). If we take away every market with less than a 4-5 million metro population, how many teams would this country have? Better yet, how many people would actually be interested in the games?
IMO, this is why college sports do so much better than the pros in many medium-sized to small-sized markets. The college isn't going anywhere. The college isn't gonna have a lock out. The college doesn't complain about the size of its home. The list goes on and on. Don't get me wrong, I love having the Panthers and Bobcats here in Charlotte. However, I don't agree with this trend of teams moving around from market to market like some circus. Where's the loyalty? Where's the commitment to the local area? It seems to me that its all about the money, and that's where the colleges are doing better than the pros.
You all are seriously operating in some type of alternate universe. It's not that the big market teams get a pass, it's the fact that ticket sales is not the be all, end all of how a team makes money.
Also Birmingham Alabama? Again. Are you people all mad? If Birmingham got an NFL team it would instantly become the second smallest market to have an NFL team in the entire country behind green bay... and unlike green bay it won't have about century of history and a fan base that stretches across the entire country. Also a town that is crazy about college football in the deep south. You people really think this is a recipe for success?
Look sorry to burst your bubbles, but get real. The NFL will not be expanding above 32 teams for the foreseeable future. There are already teams that exist that are not doing all that well, in the future if a city wants an NFL team they'll have to lure one of those poor performing franchises to their city. LA is now serious about getting a stadium built and getting an NFL team, the jaguars will def be their first target.
New Orleans has LSU just 80 miles west and a similar media market and does great as far as attendance.
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