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By Grayson Kamm
First Coast News
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The Jaguars say slow season ticket renewals may force them to hand over hundreds of tickets to be sold to fans in other cities.
Any Jags fan can tell you how frustrating it is to see a sea of yellow and black instead of teal when the Pittsburgh Steelers come to town.
But if some season tickets aren't renewed, those tickets will go to Steelers fans, or any other team scheduled to play here.
The Jaguars have already extended the deadline for some season ticket holders. A team spokesman told First Coast News that the First Coast is a last-minute kind of place.
But the last minute has passed -- and the team's in overtime trying to renew the tickets that keep the franchise financially alive.
The logos and autographed footballs are all around Dana Blunt's downtown Jacksonville office. It's clear his love for the Jags is huge. But his wallet is not.
"Buying two season tickets is not exactly cheap," Blunt said.
So, this season, he and his wife went back and forth for months on whether to sign up for season tickets again. "We had a really great time -- [but] we missed a couple of the games. So, once it came time to renew, we were kind of skeptical," Blunt said.
The Jags say they're hoping fans like Blunt get off the fence.
Of the season tickets up for renewal this year, the team says only sixty percent of the fans have agreed to come back. That's so few, the team extended the deadline to renew to mid-April.
The Jags say the delay -- and maybe decline -- in ticket holders hurts them in two ways.
Obviously, lost money makes it tough to field a good team in one of the NFL's smallest markets.
But, there are also the ravenous fans of other teams to consider. When the Steelers came to town in 2004, Alltel Stadium was their home away from home. Black and gold were everywhere.
After April 19th, season tickets the team can't sell on the First Coast will get dumped off to ticket brokers. Those brokers will likely sell the seats to fans in other cities and hurt the big cats' home field advantage.
That's a sight Blunt says he and his wife couldn't stand to see.
"We decided we should go into our pockets again, spread it out over four payments... we want to be out there and make sure that we're supporting the team -- we don't want it to go anywhere," Blunt said.
The Jaguars say they are by no means panicking here. A spokesman says they're confident they will get up toward their goal of renewing 80 or 90 percent of those season tickets.
The Jaguars will kick off the 2006 season at home against the Dallas Cowboys on September 10th.
LINK
First Coast News
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The Jaguars say slow season ticket renewals may force them to hand over hundreds of tickets to be sold to fans in other cities.
Any Jags fan can tell you how frustrating it is to see a sea of yellow and black instead of teal when the Pittsburgh Steelers come to town.
But if some season tickets aren't renewed, those tickets will go to Steelers fans, or any other team scheduled to play here.
The Jaguars have already extended the deadline for some season ticket holders. A team spokesman told First Coast News that the First Coast is a last-minute kind of place.
But the last minute has passed -- and the team's in overtime trying to renew the tickets that keep the franchise financially alive.
The logos and autographed footballs are all around Dana Blunt's downtown Jacksonville office. It's clear his love for the Jags is huge. But his wallet is not.
"Buying two season tickets is not exactly cheap," Blunt said.
So, this season, he and his wife went back and forth for months on whether to sign up for season tickets again. "We had a really great time -- [but] we missed a couple of the games. So, once it came time to renew, we were kind of skeptical," Blunt said.
The Jags say they're hoping fans like Blunt get off the fence.
Of the season tickets up for renewal this year, the team says only sixty percent of the fans have agreed to come back. That's so few, the team extended the deadline to renew to mid-April.
The Jags say the delay -- and maybe decline -- in ticket holders hurts them in two ways.
Obviously, lost money makes it tough to field a good team in one of the NFL's smallest markets.
But, there are also the ravenous fans of other teams to consider. When the Steelers came to town in 2004, Alltel Stadium was their home away from home. Black and gold were everywhere.
After April 19th, season tickets the team can't sell on the First Coast will get dumped off to ticket brokers. Those brokers will likely sell the seats to fans in other cities and hurt the big cats' home field advantage.
That's a sight Blunt says he and his wife couldn't stand to see.
"We decided we should go into our pockets again, spread it out over four payments... we want to be out there and make sure that we're supporting the team -- we don't want it to go anywhere," Blunt said.
The Jaguars say they are by no means panicking here. A spokesman says they're confident they will get up toward their goal of renewing 80 or 90 percent of those season tickets.
The Jaguars will kick off the 2006 season at home against the Dallas Cowboys on September 10th.
LINK
