Improving the game-day experience was one of the keys to making the Jacksonville Jaguars games become the “hottest tickets in the NFL,” owner Shahid Khan has said.
The organization recently released a list of policy and service changes aimed at luring fans from couches and big screen televisions and into the teal seats of EverBank Field.
Fans will be able to experience some of the changes Friday during the Jaguars first preseason game against the New York Giants with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m., while other changes will be ready in time for the regular season.
“The game-day experience for our fans continues to be a top priority. We are excited to introduce multiple enhancements for the 2012 season and will continue to look for ways to make the EverBank Field fan experience even better in the future,” said Mark Lamping, president of the Jaguars.
Game-day experience improvements include “The Prowl.” The Jaguars players will now walk through the covered public area beneath the Bud Light Party Zone before pregame introductions. It will provide fans an opportunity to cheer for the team just before the players take the field. The player/fan interaction is modeled after the college football experience, where teams walk to the stadium as fans line up to cheer them on.
Fans will now be able to enter the seating bowl two hours before kickoff to enjoy more of the pregame activities, which may include the stadium’s upgraded sound system.
The Jaguars also have looked into providing fans more value during the game-day experience. A new “lap pass” ticket will be made available, allowing children less than 34 inches tall to enter the stadium free of charge provided he or she sits on an adult’s lap.
Lap pass tickets will be available only on game days and can be obtained at the game-day ticket office at Gate 2. Half-price season tickets are now available in designated sections for youth under the age of 12 who are accompanied by a paying adult.
There will be no price increase on food items at concession stands throughout the stadium for the 2012 season. Jaguars fans will now be allowed to bring food into the stadium. Food must be unwrapped and placed in an 11” x 11” clear plastic bag. No liquids will be allowed. (Possible items and quantities that could fit in that size bag include: three submarine sandwiches, 30 unbreaded hot wings, 20 breaded hot wings, a couple of pounds of trail mix, six hamburgers with buns, eight hot dogs with buns or a dozen glazed doughnuts.)
“The changes are the result of a combination of fan input, staff ideas and ideas staff has seen at other organizations,” said Dan Edwards, senior vice president of communications for the Jaguars.
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