Revolutionizing Jacksonville: Inside the Jaguars' Stadium Overhaul with Mark Lamping

[00:00:01] Mike's on Mic, a conversation about politics, government and Jacksonville with 50 year opinion leaders Mike Hightower, Mike Tolbert and award-winning broadcaster and longtime political observer Mike Miller. Welcome to the third in our series on the Jan Vlarsanian proposal.

[00:00:22] Our co-host Mike Tolbert is under the weather so he's not joining us today. Mike Hightower of course is here in studio with us and speaking of which we wanted to also thank our friend Alan Bliz and the team at the Jacksonville Historical Society

[00:00:34] which is inside the Jacksonville History Center for their support for Mike's on Mic. It's great to have them with us and we thank them for their generosity. We are so delighted and fortunate to have Jack Warris, President Mark Lamberk is our

[00:00:47] guest who by the way has graciously allowed us to do our broadcast today right inside Shod Khan's conference room at the State of it. It's really great to be. This is the first time by the way Mark that we've been outside his studio to do this.

[00:01:00] So thanks for being our in-e-pig today. And if this works out we'd just like to be back here every week. Yeah, okay. This is called Mike's on Jan Vlarsanian. We can do that. We'll work that out with you. We'll go wait and see.

[00:01:11] You're going to have to find your way back to where you came from so you never know. As I mentioned Mr Lamberk, Mark is current team president of the Jacksonville Jan Vlarsanian. He was formerly the CEO of MetLife Stadium and prior to that he was, and this

[00:01:25] is very difficult for me to say it, honest being a Chicago Cumps fan, but he was president of the St. Louis Cardinals Major League Baseball team between the years 1994 and 2008. He's now non-executive director and I want to ask you what that means.

[00:01:41] The English Association football team formed which is owned by Jan Vlarsanian's owner Shod Khan. Mark was a prominent sports marketing executive at Anheuser-Busch before his job with the Cardinals. In 2008 he resigned as the president of the Cardinals to become chief executive officer

[00:01:56] of the new Meadowlands Stadium Company where he oversaw the opening of the Meadowlands where of course the New York Giants and New York Jets play. Mark is graduate of Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri and I wanted to

[00:02:08] start off by asking you what is the difference being involved in baseball and working with the MLB and football working with the NFL? Well it's really two things. Baseball you have so many games.

[00:02:20] There are 162 games so in baseball you have about 10 games for every one game you have in the National Football League. In baseball you sort of have that steady drum beat of a season as you start in spring

[00:02:33] training in March and then go through the summer and wrap up in September and if you get to the playoffs you go into October but it's a long, long season. Football on the other hand, a lot fewer games and the intensity and the importance

[00:02:49] of each individual game is much higher and I think the emotional connection and attachment of the football fan to their favorite football team versus the baseball fan, their favorite baseball team, the football fans are so much higher in terms of their emotional connection. Every game means more.

[00:03:09] The rituals are more significant that if you have a home game you'll start if you're going to go to the game and tailgating is a big part of it you'll start your planning four or five days in advance so but the

[00:03:19] basic premise of the businesses are very similar. The National Football League has the ideal structure as it relates to trying to keep the competitive playing fields level. Baseball not so much where teams in big markets can exercise their economic strength to the disadvantage of smaller teams.

[00:03:41] Thanks for having us here. Let's talk about where we are today with the contract which is now front page. Everybody is excited about it. At least a lot of us in this room are very excited about it. Can you describe the process of crafting a contract of this

[00:03:58] transformational scope and importance for most of us that were here 28 years ago. We kind of only read about it in the paper we didn't see behind the curtain. Can you kind of describe that? Well, the size of it is you know without compare.

[00:04:15] It's the single largest infrastructure investment in the history of downtown Jacksonville. It'll be the single largest private investment in the history of downtown Jacksonville. We've been working on this process for probably eight years in earnest over the last four.

[00:04:34] There's been I think a somewhat unprecedented level of public outreach that's taken place over the last 16 months. Engaged with multiple administrations, multiple city council presidents, dozens of city council members and consultants that the city has hired. Engagement with really really important stakeholders.

[00:05:00] University of Florida, University of Georgia, the Gator Bowl. And it feels good to be nearing the end of the process. You know when Wayne and Dolores Weaver who brought against all odds brought the NFL

[00:05:18] here to Jacksonville, when they decided on Chad Khan and his family as their successor in owning the Jaguars there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the team at that point in time. If you remember that time, Wayne spent a lot of time talking about

[00:05:35] I'm going to try to find somebody who's going to keep the team here in Jacksonville. Which meant that not everyone who potentially could have purchased the team would have kept the team in Jacksonville.

[00:05:43] You know Chad from the very beginning wanted to ensure that we had a stable, consistently competitive NFL franchise here in northeast Florida that the community would be proud of and for that to continue for generations to come.

[00:06:01] I think that was a goal that the community shared along with Chad and I think it feels pretty good to be on the verge of perhaps turning that goal into reality. That's fantastic. You know as we've been reading about, as you all won your community huddles, Mike

[00:06:22] was at the first one and they, which by the way as our colleague Mike told us says you can never hold a communicating link to the public and I think you all have done, you and the mayor have done an extraordinary job. Thank you.

[00:06:34] But part of that is some of the planned enhancements that you find that not only are our ticket holders going to find exciting about this new contract but the community at large when they use the stadium for other events.

[00:06:49] Can you talk about some of those enhancements that are now part of that contract? Yeah, first starting with your, thank you by the way on the compliment about the public outreach and it has been significant and those community huddles have served the

[00:07:03] purpose that they were intended to and that was to get input and particularly on the rounds of huddles we did about a year ago. It was to mold the plan and have the public have a role in determining what the final program looks like.

[00:07:20] Our interest with the city, we shared the same goal which was if we're going to solve this city owned stadium issue and it's going to be a significant investment on behalf of the city as well as the team.

[00:07:35] If all we end up with is a stadium solution then I think most of us would agree we were missing an opportunity, a great opportunity. So the goal was as part of this to make sure that we crafted the program in a

[00:07:49] way that you know benefits were felt throughout to you know all of Dewalt County. When you talk about specifically about the stadium obviously the you know the comfort and the experience that J-war fans have is really important to us.

[00:08:03] But going well beyond that it says how can we turn this stadium into an economic engine which will be attracting more and more events to downtown Jacksonville not only for the benefit of those that live here but to

[00:08:16] attract more people to come and visit Jacksonville and the economic impact that those visitors can create. So you know the goal is to have a very busy facility 365 days a year to have a really solid future for the Jaguars such that the Jaguars would

[00:08:32] commit to be in Jacksonville for a minimum of another 30 years and then have elements of this program be felt throughout the entire community. And you know I think you know the agreement is balanced we think the agreements share and we think the benefits of that agreement are very

[00:08:48] broad and extendable beyond just the sports complex. Going back there on some of the things what's going to be different in the stadium as far as if you're a ticket? Those of us are ticket holders. What are some of the...

[00:09:00] Well let's start with what our customers said they wanted to have improved because that was an important part of the process so you know we did extensive surveys with our customers and asked them you know what are those

[00:09:15] things you'd like to see improved and while we weren't surprised by some of their responses because we listen to our customers all the time it starts with the obvious shade on all the seats. The east side. Particularly on the east side of the stadium.

[00:09:33] Wider concourses and that's become a bigger issue post-COVID where at one point maybe in general we all felt comfortable being shoulder to shoulder. I don't think that's necessarily the case today as it was pre-COVID. Easier to get from level to level what they call vertical transportation so

[00:09:52] when you arrive at the stadium you know right now you only have a few options you can you know go up these ramps that are in each corner of the stadium you can wait in a line to get on an escalator and even

[00:10:02] longer line to get on an elevator so we needed to modify all of that. You know improves the things that maybe fans don't necessarily see but they feel like if you have access to air conditioning space that the air

[00:10:15] conditioning actually works and that it's that cools you down that you know you have state-of-the-art security which is which is really important and then in terms of some of the improvements to the stadium not only in terms of game day but the way those improved game day spaces

[00:10:30] strictly air conditioned spaces. We'll be adding I think about a hundred and ten thousand square feet of additional air condition space in the building and the reason that's important is not only for game day but then that's multi-purpose space that can

[00:10:41] be used to attract smaller events on non game days you know such as banquets small trade shows small conventions things like that. Can I go back to the huddle for just a moment one thing that I found very quite interesting it shouldn't be a surprise to anybody because

[00:10:56] obviously we're a very diverse city and people are also geographically very diverse but I did notice that when you were mandering for the kickoff you had a very supportive audience because everybody really was excited

[00:11:10] about it they were happy and this is now the most recent huddles at that but when you went to the northwest I understand the mood was a little different there did that surprise you that in different geographical locations where you held the huddles that the tenor of the

[00:11:25] audiences would be as different as they ended up being? No because we had been in those communities multiple times with the Jaguar community huddles which we did a year ago right so you know the mayor

[00:11:38] arranged for five community huddles it was it was her idea it was a great idea and we were privileged to be invited to be a part of it the Jaguars had done 20 community huddles in Duval County going back a year so

[00:11:50] we've been in all those communities and you know I think that particularly when you have the opportunity to talk to an elected official which was the case in this in this last round. If there are some real issues in your particular community and you've got the

[00:12:05] mayor there you're not gonna pass on the opportunity to point out the flooding issues on the northwest side okay and you know maybe that also says that perhaps those fundamental public infrastructure issues might be greater in the northwest community than they might be in Mandarin so while the

[00:12:25] mayor's there if they don't have a lot to complain about in terms of public infrastructure then let's get at the matter at hand which is that which is the Jaguars in the stadium topic and if you're in a community where

[00:12:37] there's a lot of shortcomings and maybe some the perception that promises weren't kept that that that that comes to the surface. Which is why by the way there is such emphasis on the east side yeah in the CBA because

[00:12:50] of the promises who were made at that part of the community that we're now fulfilled. Yeah and I can say this and again this is this is after having been you know participated in more community levels than anyone on

[00:13:03] this particular subject I didn't find a lot of ups and downs in terms of the way people perceived the stadium portion of it it was more some of the things that were ancillary to the agreement that really changed significantly. And

[00:13:17] so that venue allowed them with the elected officials and it closed this mayor or the seat council was there for them to express that. And not to mention of course the media that altered out for that as well because they got

[00:13:28] some good face time in front of cameras by hearing some of the home events and support right on both sides which was important. Which I think says a lot for you all because why you were dealing with the

[00:13:40] stadium those issues which I'm not saying it was intentional but a lot of times that you were saying those infrastructure issues get lost sometimes it was a good way to remind those people who are in decision-making situations those issues are still there and need to be

[00:13:56] addressed. Absolutely. As you talk to other NFL team leaders what factors contribute to a win-win relationship with the city is there? Where they're located? You know I'm not sure I learned that much from other NFL teams quite honestly you know I've been around a lot longer than

[00:14:14] you know most of my peers in professional sports and I've had the opportunity to work in different communities and I've learned a lot since I've been here you know some learnings from learning from some failures learning from some success and I think in this particular case our

[00:14:32] interests were aligned from the very beginning. The city of Jacksonville did not make a secret at all that they wanted to keep the Jaguars here nor did the Jaguars keep it a secret that we really wanted to stay here in

[00:14:45] Jacksonville so we were both trying to get to yes you know I think we had a very high level of respect for each party it's not to suggest that you know we didn't have our difficulties during the negotiations but that happens I've

[00:14:59] been married you know 44 years now and I've had some ups and downs during that period of my life. Okay yeah not that often but because I always at the end of day I always realize you're right honey. On the best day you

[00:15:16] got 49.9% on a great day. Yeah so because of that solid beginning and the fact that we had a lot of mutual respect for each other there wasn't a lot of gamesmanship in the negotiating which you see so many

[00:15:30] terms people weren't trying to posture through the press as an example to try to apply pressure on the other side you know neither party engaged in that and it was a remarkable drama free negotiation and it was a true

[00:15:49] negotiation. It's you know we didn't end up with the deal that we wanted I don't think the city ended up with the deal that they wanted because there's no perfect deal but there is a perfect outcome and the perfect

[00:15:58] outcome is ensuring that NFL football is gonna be here for generations to come and in the process of doing that the benefits will be felt throughout the entire community. Before you and I know you've been involved in many negotiations in the past but when you went people when

[00:16:13] you prepared for this one was there anything that was so unique about this that you knew that whatever skills that you brought to the table in previous negotiations might not or might work well in this negotiation

[00:16:29] because like you said three hundred sixty three pages. Yeah this is this was this was this was a little different because there it's like a three-legged stool you know you have you know the city and what's important to the city

[00:16:41] and the taxpayers and then you have the Jaguars and what's important to the Jaguars and our fans then you have this third leg of the stool which is the National Football League and the other 31 owners because keep in mind

[00:16:53] you know we cannot enter into any new lease without getting 75% of the other NFL owners to agree so I think one of the things that I found really valuable in this process is that I spent as much time thinking about how

[00:17:11] are the the elected officials going to be perceived in terms of their support for this and how is the public going to perceive it in addition to how are the other owners throughout the National Football League gonna be

[00:17:27] viewing this you know we knew where the Jaguars needed to get to but we just needed to make sure we got there in a way that was explainable that was supportable by the 20 elected officials and ultimately will decide the

[00:17:43] mayor and the 19 council members and then how do we make sure we get 75% of the other NFL owners to support it so it was a little bit of a balancing act but you know thanks to you know a really committed partner on

[00:17:57] the other side of the table with the city and the mayor and Mike Weinstein you know I think we were able to get to a place where it was fair and balanced and hopefully we'll meet the needs of all three parties we were

[00:18:08] also pretty fortunate that the mayor decided to bring in the legal team from outside who had worked with the NFL before because I'm sure there must have been times during that negotiation where they would say well

[00:18:21] you're not gonna get the NFL owners to go along with this one they will do this one or if you make a change or something you'll get a better chance of did that happen that happened but what happened more frequently it was

[00:18:32] well the Jaguars should agree to this because that's what Buffalo agreed to and that's what and that's what Nashville agreed to and that's what this team agreed to but you know I think it was that I'm really

[00:18:47] happy that the city engaged someone who's an expert on negotiating stadium agreements and leases with NFL teams because it it it took the pressure off us to do all the due diligence on behalf of the city which happens so

[00:19:05] many times in our negotiations we have to go to the city and say here's what's here's what other cities have done okay now they could go to their own independent right and then they can tell we all had the same facts it

[00:19:16] was just easier for a third party to provide those facts to the city I'd had the experience to be able to say yeah this is something that the NFL would and you're right and in negotiations better to have a third

[00:19:26] party bring that up as opposed to you bring it up where it would look self-service yeah people just do they wouldn't they would they would question the validity of it yeah Mark going back I can ask sure GK but when

[00:19:38] you just going through what what you looking for the word that really sort of jumped out as a part of that was when you talk about the officials and taxpayers all that the other what came in my mind doing lobby

[00:19:50] and the password sustainable that it couldn't be a flash in the pan it had to be sustainable over the long period of the contract I mean that had to be a part of how long will this last after they the pizzazz was over near

[00:20:04] a contract if some yeah and one of the one of the parts of that Mike was to make sure you don't repeat the mistakes of the past I mean the reason that we have a problem in the stadium right now is wasn't because it

[00:20:15] was a bad design at the beginning and yeah they probably should have taken this one into consideration on the side of the stadium but they were dealing with an orientation of a stadium that was there before the old

[00:20:24] Gator ball okay but the reason we have so many problems in this stadium is bit is because there was not a identified funding source to make capital improvements and make maintenance along the way so over the last 30 years this this stadium publicly owned stadium where the

[00:20:41] responsibility for capital and maintenance lies with the state the funds simply weren't there from the city right and then you end up with the stadium being in the condition is right now so the sustainability that

[00:20:51] that's a that's a very good word because you know I always thought that that that we would get to an agreement on how we were going to split the initial cost but we were not going to make that level

[00:21:01] investment I say we shod was not going to make that level of investment unless we were certain that there was going to be funding to the stadium stays well maintained and up to date over a 30 year period and that

[00:21:13] was probably one of the bigger aspects of our negotiation that that has gotten us to the point where we were very comfortable shod was very comfortable committing to a 30 year lease yeah the other thing I wanted bring out and

[00:21:27] make sure that because we talked about this as we were getting ready for the thing for this show it's through this negotiations and you sort of spoke to it at the beginning about what our common outcome was one of the

[00:21:40] things that has been written about and has been talked about was there was never this unthought of or this possible if we don't get we want we're gonna walk you made that very clearly you talked about when you often not when

[00:21:56] the weavers were looking for sheen for shot that was that has came that was never talked about but it was also understood and appreciated by the community because everybody goes on everybody goes on the internet those

[00:22:10] who know how to do it I don't but I watched the videos that was always that was always the other unspoken person in the room and that never came up and I just found that when you talked about the respect it was

[00:22:25] the respect that the Javars had for the process the respect you had for the city the respect you had for the negotiations and I don't think I think that was a an incredible advantage for everyone involved it was talking about

[00:22:40] what we wanted to accomplish and not that and well it's interesting if I may just to kind of counter that a little bit and mark I know you remember this at least at the huddle I was saying no I have not heard

[00:22:52] anyone from the Javars even utter anything right that however our dear mayor is very quick to let people know that either we do this or they're gonna walk and I'm not sure I necessarily agree with that tactic that she

[00:23:08] decided to use but it it's one that I didn't find out that was intentional and wanted the people to know that there would be that possibility if this did not fan us you know the one the aspect of that was you know

[00:23:25] did and I'm of the Jaguars did not never get never came from Jaguars and more and we've always asked that you know people sort of you know judge shod by his actions not by what you think he's doing we started working on

[00:23:40] this eight years ago the reason we started working on eight years ago is that we knew that if we got near the end of our lease and there wasn't a long-term solution to the stadium there were every problems just like the

[00:23:50] same problems occurred in Oakland and in st. Louis and San Diego and Baltimore and Cleveland you know before those markets so you know shot has been looking for and committed to finding a solution so we've always been

[00:24:06] solution oriented you know I think the I I think the mayor was also right right in terms of her description that you know whether the Jaguars are here or not it's not like okay let's invest this amount of public money and

[00:24:22] then add to that a lot of money from from from shot and his family to solve the problem that the city currently has with the city-owned stadium even if the Jaguar in here you still got problems with this building if you

[00:24:35] want to keep Florida Georgia you want to keep the Gator Bowl you know you're probably gonna have to test to 50 million at least and at least that yeah so and and you would talk about earlier what you talked about the

[00:24:46] enhancement even when you're talking because I have a lot of friends in Georgia even North Carolina they talk about a stadium right and you know and they part of that when they're in negotiations with the Florida Georgia

[00:25:00] game but we don't the stadium here so you're absolutely right and they change a little bit when we as you talk as it is a y'all have rolled out the contracts and the bill 351 which by the way was masterfully done by

[00:25:17] why could well the concept of a community benefit arrangement has led into in other communities which we had not heard of some amazing transformations and other communities why was that one of the issues that

[00:25:33] both the Jaguars and the mayor led with right up front because I mean it was a new concept so there's only been there's only been a handful of and his eyes are yeah it was not only you did it but let's talk about the side down

[00:25:47] as you all ran proposed yeah yeah there's there's only been a handful of community benefits agreements in the National Football League and the single largest that's ever been proposed is what was originally proposed by the Jaguars as I as I said yeah yeah 100 million and and

[00:26:04] what I said earlier on was that you know if we just end up with a stadium solution we've missed a huge opportunity for so so going into this you know we knew that that we wanted Chad wanted to leave an impact

[00:26:16] throughout the community we knew it'd be something that we assumed there'd be something that the city would bring up because something similar was part of the Buffalo Deal and the Nashville Deal although the our initial proposal

[00:26:27] that a hundred million dollars was bigger than any a one in the past so so that was our position at the beginning is that the you know so he doesn't have to put in a dime the Jaguars will put up a hundred million and

[00:26:38] you know we want these dollars to go to benefit the out east community which has been neglected for generations we want it to help support downtown development and we wanted to have some county-wide impact other than

[00:26:53] that you know we were we were clear that we'd be be willing to have others sort of determine exactly which program should get supported and which one shouldn't you know the mayor had the first the mayor really

[00:27:07] appreciated the fact that Chad had come forward with such a significant commitment but the mayor was thinking bigger and then and she asked us if we would be willing to increase our commitment from 100 to 150 million over the 30 years of our lease if the city then would put up 150,000 150

[00:27:27] million as well and it didn't take long for shots they have to think about that well but he did he did have a question he said where is the city going to invest their 150 million and when the mayor indicated that that a

[00:27:43] portion of that 150 about a third of it or so was gonna go to complete the downtown parks along the North Banks yeah that message was a very positive one to shot because it you know it was it gave him confidence

[00:27:56] that the city really is committed to downtown development and making those infrastructure investments that are necessary to support that development because keep in mind between what's happening across the street with the Four Seasons and the office building and then the investment in the stadium

[00:28:12] well north of a billion dollars of private investment already yeah if you if you take what's happened across the street plus the stadium that is an excess it's like 1.1 billion dollars largest single private investment

[00:28:23] by far in the history of downtown so with the city saying that they were interested in funding those downtown parks that gave shot even more confidence to believe in in downtown Jacksonville now what happened what has

[00:28:36] happened since then is you know there's been a lot of debate about where the city's money should be going you know I and you know that's a that's a debate that's up to the city what we have what we have said is

[00:28:48] that you know if the if the city and the city council can't the mayor's office in the city council can't come to an agreement on what this community benefits agreement should look like rest assured our hundred million

[00:29:01] dollars is still there whether you whether you do a dollar or not and if at some point in time you you can figure out what you want to do with 150 million we'll be happy to you know restore our commitment from 100 to

[00:29:13] 150 but this really looks like that not all of that is going to be resolved on the same schedule as the stadium one of the things that discussed a lot of it to be honest with you I'm probably as confused as most anybody

[00:29:27] else first heard this tell us about the games being played outside of Jacksonville what is going to what we can see and also what we can't see because there's also I understand this thought by the NFL that they may

[00:29:42] increase the number of games and if they increase the number of games in the season then there's a possibility that teams would be playing more than one game outside that we have first let's let's sort of set the stage on us

[00:29:53] because because what what is important is not just to focus on what our lease is but I think it's also important to look at what our lease was so under our current lease the Jaguars can play as many games as the Jaguars

[00:30:06] choose to outside of Jacksonville it's in the current lease there are no restrictions on how many games have to be played here okay I think anybody I there's our home moment for this dad and with the hundred million stays on

[00:30:20] the table those are so so so so we have total freedom under our current lease and even with that total free freedom the Jaguars have never played more than one game outside of Jacksonville under under Shod's

[00:30:36] ownership and I can tell you the history on that was the reason that if you go back and if you talk to people that were involved in the original negotiation you know talk to Paul Harden if you can find David Seldon talk to

[00:30:46] him maybe talk away you should have been yeah I don't know if Michael would have been there beginning but but the reason that was put in there is to provide a little protection for the team in the event that Jacksonville

[00:30:59] didn't support the team they weren't thinking about London they were thinking about moving a bunch of games to Orlando that's why I was there okay so anyway so fast forward hot three fast forward and then in the team

[00:31:13] has only played one game outside it's height of Jacksonville per year and we've been playing at London one of the things we have to do is that whatever type of agreement we have it has to comply with what the NFL rules

[00:31:27] and bylaws are okay so under under our under the National Football League's current rules the National Football League has the option not to requirement but the option to require every team in the National Football League to move one of their home games outside of their market as part

[00:31:44] of the international series once every four years okay so what the commitment was to the mayor is okay going forward we will protect the status quo okay not in terms of what our rights are but what we've been

[00:31:57] doing so putting really tight guardrails around the number of games that could be played outside of Jacksonville so no matter what people may think about this the old lease was a lot worse from the state and the mayor

[00:32:08] was successful in putting putting guardrails around it so what we what we've done under a 17 game schedule is we basically protected the status quo where we can play one game a year we have the option to play one game

[00:32:20] here doesn't mean we're going to we have the option to play one game a year outside and once every four years if the National Football League selects us there's the potential that we could have to play two years

[00:32:29] during that two games out during that that one year and again there's there's a lot of pluses and minuses in this in this agreement you mentioned it Mike that the National Football League is really focused on international growth

[00:32:42] so when they have a team at a city like Jacksonville that says okay we will be a willing participant in that program on an annual basis that that that creates goodwill amongst all the other NFL owners and it could be

[00:32:57] some of the things that will influence them to support a commitment to keep out of football here in Jacksonville for 30 years which we're confident that's that that's where they will conclude you build up let me know

[00:33:10] on block you built a very loyal fan base in one loop yeah because of these four years or so that's why I wouldn't talk about and but how does that how does that benefit us how does that benefit Jacksonville because

[00:33:24] the loyal fan base that you have okay let me let me try to answer it two ways when the team first started going over there the economic return of the game being played at 90,000 seat Wembley Stadium versus 60,000 seats here in

[00:33:43] Jacksonville the economic return to the team was greater for the games in London which how did that benefit the people who are local it made the team stronger financially okay and as a way to compensate for some of the

[00:33:57] shortcomings in Jacksonville that has nothing to do with our fan base it has to do with the size of this market okay and and a lot of the economic benefits that are accrued at teams are not driven by whether you sell out

[00:34:09] your games or not it's driven by the size of the market for example the naming rights on the stadium the value of our of our local media rights the value of our local sponsorship rights are not just driven

[00:34:22] by how many people show up at the game it's how many people are going to be following that in that particular community the second thing that that that London does and Mike has had the front row seat on us

[00:34:34] is that the the chamber has very wisely used the Jaguars annual game in London as a trade mission what countries are knocking on our door saying please play here well a lot of countries are knocking on the door of

[00:34:49] the National Football League our focus is on the UK so you know because we have built up equity there as I mentioned earlier yes you know with it with the improvements to the stadium the economic advantage of playing

[00:35:00] in Wembley versus playing here those those will start to go away a little bit and I hope we get to the point we're actually better at keeping the games here from a from a game day economic return but keep in

[00:35:12] mind there's other other commercial benefits that we can generate by being London's team and and you know we have full-time employees over there we're selling sponsorships on a year-round basis so I think you know one game

[00:35:25] in London will will be part of our DNA for quite some time to come and you know I would hope that that we will continue to manage it in a way that is well received by our by the city as well as our fans I just I

[00:35:40] when you was talking about is actually let me go in those first two games stretch out here the first one I everybody who went to part of that chamber or part of that chamber team that week we spent there that just

[00:35:51] uh all different discussion really looked at Shadwars but newly I mean it the whole it was like all of London was there I mean we had never seen anything like I mean we just walked around I mean the

[00:36:05] people were tailgating anything like the Dades and they were they were everywhere and and it was the enthusiasm and the love of the Jaguars I mean it was and of course those of us they could tell by way we were

[00:36:18] not British they want this I mean it was it was fantastic it was like the first game here that it was that pitch of the enthusiasm but to pick up on that every you know we had that was uh that was under Brown was the

[00:36:33] first one so you've had Brown uh Prairie and now you do you have uh Donna the economic benefits of the business community in London and the possibility and what it is when you think about that first game to where we

[00:36:48] are not is incalculable I'd love to ask Corbin I wish we had done they said when we had him on his show to find out just for what kind of what kind of visitation do we get from London that actually during the

[00:36:59] Jaguar season because they're following your tea back out so I have to stay on a personal basis as we got through all that I think a couple of us said to you you know Mark you are the face of the Jaguars you

[00:37:11] were a believable person we respect you and it's it has paid the dividend you you've gone out there and and you've become the face of the Jaguars that's what Shog wanted you to do your you are authentic you are

[00:37:24] credible and we appreciate what you're doing for us thanks well thanks and thanks to the Khan family because this doesn't happen without their support well it's true we do that thank you thank you guys thank you guys everybody watching and listening to the program let me just

[00:37:36] give you one piece of advice and that is if you are a supporter of this proposal which we certainly hope you are that's not mandatory oh that's just what we feel oh that's a great observation thank you I have plenty inside either for section two guys damn good

[00:37:51] all your city councilmen and woman and let them know that you're in support of this it's very important that you do and not just your district council member also call up those five have large concierge papers because they represent everybody not just a particular district as

[00:38:07] as the three mics talked about this this is the time where our republican city councilmen council persons and our democratic council persons need to be sitting council person forget forget the partisanship this is all about a common denominator

[00:38:26] all one tide lives all ships it's time for us to be sitting councilman not not democrat republic thank you all for joining us our thanks to all three of the episodes that we've done on this dave power line of course we had

[00:38:39] on mike bender we've had out and now mark lapping and we'll be back again with you next week we hope that you don't join us and follow us of course on youtube on our website is spikes on mike.com or on your favorite

[00:38:50] platform where you get your podcasts see you next like on mike with mike tolbert mike hightower and mike miller can be found on your favorite podcasting platform facebook and youtube visit the website at mics on mike.com join us next time for more conversation with mics on mike