Jags can remove tarps without changing blackout number

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The Jacksonville Jaguars have decided not to take advantage of the provision in the new blackout rule that allows the minimum number of tickets to be dropped from 100 percent to 85 percent.  But they could be utilizing a tweak that permits them to remove the tarps from time to time in 2012.

Previously, the Jaguars were prohibited from de-tarping Everbank Field on a piecemeal basis.  A source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that the Jags now have the ability to remove tarps depending on demand.

If they choose to lift the tarps, the Jaguars would have to surrender 50 percent of every dollar generated by the sale of the otherwise covered seats.

As a practical matter, it means that the Jags are indirectly using the new blackout rule, as it relates to the tarped seats.  The magic number for avoiding a blackout comes from the non-tarped non-premium seats.  The Jaguars then can go higher than that number by removing tarps and in turn paying a higher piece of the gross revenues to the visiting teams’ pool.

“Stay tuned, because to me, we’ve got to start taking the tarps off,” Jags owner Shahid Khan told Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports on Friday night.  “I look at that and it frankly sucks my energy.  I really don’t want to subscribe to excuse-making and talk about the challenges of the market — I just want to solve the problem.  And if we can take them down for two games this season, or even one game, it’s progress.”

The problem is that not many games currently stand out as obvious candidates for a huge crowd.  The home opener against the Texans could be attractive, but the best chance of lifting the tarps comes from being and staying competitive over the course of the marathon that is the NFL season, along with the national following of the given opponent.

For now, we plan to keep an eye on the November 4 visit from the Lions (which will be the Jaguars’ first home game in four weeks), the December 9 game against the Jets, and the December 23 contest with the Patriots as possible candidates for Khan to realize his vision of getting the tarps out of his sight.

12 responses to “Jags can remove tarps without changing blackout number

  1. The league is gradually watering down the blackout rules, which is a good thing. I believe that the owners realize that when they accept public funds for their stadiums, it is difficult to deprive taxpayers the right to enjoy the games on television.

  2. Its funny that there was no mention that the Everbank Field was built to house 90,000 for the Gator Bowl. Therefore, tarps are necessesary to bring the stadium down to 68,000 to fit the market size.

  3. I like that Khan plans to aggressively market the team. I also like that he doesn’t “want to subscribe to excuse-making”. It’s good to see an owner who wants to improve and push his team.

    If Khan can back up his talk then Jags fans have something to look forward to.

  4. Miami and Tampa both have bigger attendance issues than Jacksonville and both have had multiple blackouts since the Jags last had one. Most NFL fans outside the state of Florida do not know this.

    How about a little help in getting the facts out, Mike?

    Oh wait, then who would you and others have to kick around then?

  5. They’ll use the tarps to provide cover for the spillover crowd in the parking lot watching the game on their laptops and smartphones.

    “Let us in!”.

    “Sorry there is no more room, the fans are All In and the seats are filled.”.

  6. Arizona essentially does the same thing and nobody cares. They have over 10k seats on rollers that are hidden from view. They bring those seats out for the Fiesta Bowl, the BCS title game and the Super Bowl. For Cardinal games, they wheel them away. Out of sight, out of mind. The problem in Jacksonville is the same amount of seats are under the ugly tarps.

  7. Why don’t they sell advertising on the tarps. Big Blank Canvas! Put a little money in the owners pocket. Come on Man!

  8. Since this site continues to lead it’s sheep in the wrong direction I’ll step in. Everbank Field seats 77k and can be expanded to 84. The tarps were added to bring the stadium to 67,164 right on par with every other small/medium market team and still making it the 20th , I repeat 20th largest stadium. The Jags HAVE NOT had a blackout since 2009 unlike the Bucs(blacked out 2 years straight minus one game), Dolphins, Bills, Oakland(blacked out 87 times since moving back to Oakland in 1995) Chargers, Bengals, Vikings, Lions and Colts soon to be. This team is close to being a contender regardless what you sheep have been lead to believe.

  9. nationalmediacansuckit
    Aug 18, 2012, 4:21 PM CDT

    As a season ticket holder I appreciate you setting the facts straights. However, like the owner said, we need to get past excuses. The team was awarded to Jax knowing the size of the stadium. By reiterating the size issues we give credence to the argument of why we were awarded the team in the first place. Green Bay can do it in a small market; so should we.

    Go Jags

  10. @mrlaloosh. Every tarp has an advertisement on it. I love how so many people think they’re experts on Jacksonville, yet almost always have their facts wrong. That’s expected, small market, haven’t been a consistent winner since the late 90s, it’s bound to happen. But the self-assured incorrect opinions spout off, I could do without.

  11. @blancodiablo
    Yes the team was awarded to Jax knowing the size of the stadium, but just like everything in life, things change. When this team was new and fresh and most importantly winning 77k was nothing to fill. Now fast forward 17 years later and after arguably the worst decade for an NFL franchise as far as winning and not even winning really just the boring three yards and a cloud of dust football we had to endure contributes to it as well.
    Washington decreases their seating capacity continuously. As one person wrote above Arizona takes seats away and if times are good and tickets are going through the roof they can wheel those seats back out and there are other franchises as well that adapted with their current ticket selling times. So yes while I do agree with you that the excuses must stop, the organization has contributed to the stadium issues in the past by allowing the losing and boring brand of football to continue. But I believe those days are now gone with new ownership.

  12. @txxxchief

    (1) Not every NFL team has accepted public funds for stadium construction.

    (2) Municipalities that do contribute to the construction of the stadium generally become part owners of those stadiums. They get an asset of substantial value in exchange for their investment, not free products for citizens.

    (3) It can’t possibly be true that a private company’s acceptance of some public benefit (e.g. tax breaks/co-investment) does or should mean that a company must then give its products away for free to the citizens of that municipality. Such a principle would convert virtually every private entity in the country into a public utility.

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