by Fred Seely
Editorial Director
The new end zone seating areas at Alltel Stadium will be ready for the Jacksonville Jaguars first exhibition game Aug. 15 and, as advertised, they’ll be plush.
Work continues daily on the 700-seat addition and a sports bar on the South end zone. The infrastructure is in place, and workers now are down to details such as wood facing and windows.
“There will be nothing like it in the National Football League,” says Glen Fisher, the former sportscaster who now sells premium seats for the team. “We’ve already had other teams coming here to look at what we’re doing. Think of that — there have been 22 stadiums built since ours, and we may be the best.”
The expansion is part of an estimated $45 million improvement package that includes new gates, new practice fields, elevators and other amenities to the stadium, which turns 8 years old next month.
The South end zone expansion has four levels. An entertainment area is at the ground level, but the big stuff is above.
Going up the new escalators, the first level you’ll reach is a 16,000-square-foot sports bar that will be open to any ticketholder. It will be a stand-up bar (no seating at tables) with beverage service from big bars in the middle, food from counters at each end and a view from big windows.
It may be the coolest place, too — literally. Big garage-type doors on each side can be opened, allowing a breeze to go straight through.
The prize addition is above the sports bar, a huge room similar to — but plusher than — the present clubs behind the mid-field premium seats. There will be 18,000 square feet inside and a 10,000 square-foot deck which reaches out 35 feet and spans the length of the end zone. Between the deck and the edge are 700 seats, which seem to hover directly above the South end zone.
These seats, at $3,000 each, have sold rapidly, and only about 90 remain. Many fans have upgraded from the Club Seats, and Fisher says the team expects this to eventually have the longest waiting list.
“The club area will be as upscale as anything we have in Jacksonville,” said Fisher. “[Owner] Wayne Weaver and [vice president] Bill Prescott went to other stadiums and came back with ideas, and then the design team added on. It’s going to be fabulous.”
For the $3,000, fans will get free food that is promised to be a big step above the meals now served in the Club areas. There’s also free beer and wine, and mixed drinks will be available.
The 700 seats will look like the others in the stadium, but will be slightly wider. You’ll also get your name on the seat.