Jacksonville Jaguars: 7 Reasons the Jags Are Staying in Florida

Jacksonville was considered a long shot behind St. Louis and Baltimore when it placed its bid for an NFL expansion franchise.

The city overcame the odds and shocked the NFL world Nov. 30, 1993, when it was awarded the Jaguars as the 30th franchise.

A team in Jacksonville was considered an up-hill battle due to city's small market size. Although there have been peaks and valleys, the Jaguars have stayed in Jacksonville since its inaugural season in 1995.

Jacksonville has been unable to shake off the stigma that it's unworthy of having an NFL team, as there have long been rumors of the Jaguars relocating.

However, Jacksonville is a viable long-term home to the Jaguars, and there are seven reasons why the team isn't leaving anytime soon.

The Fanbase

One of the largest areas of criticism of Jacksonville is the lack of fan support for the team. Although the Jaguars annually rank last in the NFL in popularity, the perception that Jacksonvillians do not support the team is simply not true.

The fan support hit rock bottom in 2009 when nine out of the 10 home games were blacked out. Fan support and attendance has improved drastically since that season, and there have been no blackouts since 2009.

The Jaguars' 2012 home attendance numbers rank 21st in the league in both average number of people attended and average percentage of the stadium filled.

The Jaguars average 64,231 fans at each home game. This is more than Detroit, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Cincinnati, Arizona, Minnesota, San Diego, Miami, St. Louis, Tampa Bay and Oakland.

A better indication of the Jaguars fan support is the percentage of seats filled, as EverBank Field is 95.6 percent full on average for games in 2012. The percentage is higher than the percentages in Minnesota, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Cleveland, Kansas City, St. Louis, Washington, Oakland, Tampa Bay, San Diego and Miami.

Some of the tarps that cover almost 10,000 seats have been removed for three games in 2012. This marks the first season tarps have been removed since they were added in 2005.

The Jaguars fan support gets better each year, and if that trend continues, the team will be able to stay in Jacksonville.

Florida's Population Growth

Although the Jaguars fan support isn't an issue anymore, they are gaining potential new fans due to Florida's population growth. 

Florida ranks third in the country in population growth, growing 1.23 percent since 2010. Florida is the fourth-most populous state with 19.3 million residents and is only a quarter million residents behind New York for third place.

The population growth isn't just a recent trend, as Florida's population has added at least 100,000 people a year since 1950.

Northeast Florida is among the fastest growing areas in the state, which could lead to more Jaguars fans. Duval County, the county Jacksonville is located in, grew up to 15 percent between the years 2000 to 2010. All five of Duval County's surrounding counties also grew during the same time frame, including Nassau, Clay and St. Johns County all growing by at least 25 percent.

The increase in population can only lead to more potential fans for the Jaguars. The team tapped into these potential fans with the 2012 Jaguars Caravan during the summer. Gaining support of new Florida residents will only further help the Jaguars' long-term future.

Only Show in Town

Jacksonville is one of only two NFL cities to have only one major sports franchise. The Jaguars are the only major pro sports team in Northeast Florida.

Being the only show in town is beneficial to the team's ability to stay in Jacksonville. Residents and fans aren't being asked to spread their time and money among multiple teams.

Other than Green Bay, which is less than two hours from Milwaukee's two major sports franchises, all other NFL cities have at least two sports teams. Many of those locations have three or more teams. Fan support is spread across the multiple teams, and fans must limit the amount of money and time they're willing to spend on each team.

In Jacksonville, fans don't have another choice for a major professional sports franchise other than the Jaguars.

Nowhere to Go

The Jaguars have been linked to Los Angeles for years, and with the NFL wanting a team in L.A., that would be the likely destination for the team if it does move.

But there is nowhere in Los Angeles for them to go; the Jaguars would be a team without a home.

Both the Rose Bowl and Los Angeles Coliseum are aging facilities that would not be long-term solutions for an NFL team, but they may not have to be.

In September, the Los Angeles City Council approved plans to build a downtown football stadium. The stadium, named Farmers Field, would break ground in January 2013, but would not open until the 2018 season.

For now, though, there is no stadium in Los Angeles to accommodate an NFL franchise, meaning there is no way an NFL team will be able to move there in the foreseeable future.

Stadium Lease in Jacksonville

Even if the Jaguars are in contention to move when Farmers Field is opened, the Jaguars have a stadium lease in Jacksonville through 2030.

The lease would be costly for the Jaguars to get out of. The team would owe the city more than $100 million in rent, in addition to other penalties that would equal almost $1 million a year.

The team can avoid a lot of the penalties if it can prove it lost money for one season and was below the NFL's average in revenue the next two years. Former-owner Wayne Weaver admitted to losing money in two seasons between 2002 and 2004, according to the article linked to above.

However, in 2010 the Jaguars earned $33 million in operating profits. The collective bargaining agreement that was signed in 2011 makes it more difficult for NFL teams to lose money. Although the Jaguars haven't released financial reports, it would be tough to imagine any NFL team losing money under the current collective bargaining agreement.

The Jaguars seem to be staying in Jacksonville for at least another 18 seasons.

City of Jacksonville's Commitment to the Jaguars

Not only do the people of Jacksonville support the team, the city's elected officials are doing whatever it takes to keep the Jaguars in Jacksonville.

Former mayor John Peyton helped found Team Teal in 2010, which is an initiative to improve ticket sales for the Jaguars. Team Teal has been a success, as ticket sales have improved since its founding.

The city continued to show its support by foregoing $4 million it was supposed to gain when EverBank began sponsoring Jacksonville's football stadium. The original deal was for the Jaguars and the city to split the $16.6 million 75-25, but the city voted for the Jaguars to keep 100 percent of the sponsorship money.

Mayor Alvin Brown and his administration also backs Team Teal and the Jaguars.

Jacksonville politicians want the city's NFL dream to continue and are doing everything they can to make that happen.

Owner Shad Khan's Commitment to the City of Jacksonville

"I just want to share with you, I'm totally committed to Jacksonville."

Those were among the first words spoken by Jaguars owner Shad Khan during his first press conference after being approved to take over ownership of the team.

Khan has backed up that sentiment during his first year as owner. He put about $10 million into upgrading the Jaguars locker room and weight room into some of the nicest facilities in the league. The upgrades included a new sound system, a European spa, two waterfalls with the Jaguars' logo in the plunge pool area and office space for the equipment staff.

Khan has not just shown a desire to improve the team, but also one to improve the city. Khan's plan for playing one game a year in London between 2013 and 2016 is to bring Jacksonville to the forefront of the international business and travel scene. By building the Jaguars brand internationally, it brings the prospects of more visitors and business coming to the First Coast. 

Khan is committed to improving Jacksonville as a whole, including the Jaguars.