by David Chapman
Staff Writer
There is no offseason for anyone in the NFL.
With the start of training camp just over two weeks away, Jaguars coaches and players are preparing to put in even more hours on the field, in the weight room and watching film room to achieve their goal of a championship. Off the field though, the team’s marketing, sales and advertising departments have already put in many hours to ensure that plenty of fans will be in the stands this in an effort to avoid local TV blackouts.
Team officials began the 2008 ticket sales campaign Tuesday with a “Believe in Now” theme they say embodies the upcoming season.
“Now is the window of opportunity,” said Tim Connolly, Jaguars senior vice president of business development. “The coaches and players believe this is going to be a special year and we want our fans to believe, too.”
For the next few months, fans will be seeing the “Believe in Now” message frequently – the team has 20 billboards around town featuring the slogan with head coach Jack Del Rio and quarterback David Garrard as well a prominent television commercial and numerous print advertisements.
As part of the “Believe in now” ticket campaign, Jacksonville Jaguars marketing officials have put up two different billboards around town displaying the season’s theme with two faces of the franchise: head coach Jack Del Rio and quarterback David Garrard.
Having a championship-caliber team with an attractive home schedule that features recently successful and popular opponents would usually mean tickets would be hard to find at this point, said Kerri Soloman, Jaguars senior manager of creative services and game day operations.
But this year is a little different.
“Almost any other year, we’d be fine,” said Soloman. “With the way the economy is, it hasn’t been easy for fans. We’re thankful for all the support we’ve received.”
The economy has made the task of ticket sales a little more difficult – but one team official is confident.
“It (the economy) is affecting all of us,” said Steve Livingstone, Jaguars business development manager. “We just have to adjust and overcome.”
Connolly, Soloman and Livingstone are looking to build on the current show of support from fans and are seeking to fill the remaining 4,000 general bowl seats with season ticket holders.
Season ticket sales end Aug. 8 and fans who decide to wait and purchase single game tickets to just the primo games might find themselves out of luck. According to Connolly, Soloman and Livingstone, tickets are unlikely to be available for several of the more attractive match ups including Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Green Bay and Indianapolis.
“Tickets to the big four are going to be hard to come by,” said Connolly. “Demand has been high. That’s why we’re trying to let people know early.”
The ticket sales team will be in full force when training camp begins, too, as many fans come to see the team hit the practice field during the unofficial start of the season.
Connolly has an eye toward the practices, too, as he knows training camp can stir fans to buy tickets.
“Training camp is like ringing the dinner bell,” he said. “Many people who forgot about football quickly remember the season is here.”
When those fans respond to that football bell, they’ll be greeted with a new message for the fast approaching season.
“We really do want them to ‘Believe in Now’ The first preseason game starts a month from today,” said Soloman.
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