by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce members are being drafted to beef up support for the Jacksonville Jaguars now that the lockout has ended and the team has just weeks to sell enough season tickets to avoid television blackouts.
The regular season kicks off Sept. 11 against the Tennessee Titans. Jaguars Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Macky Weaver said last week that the team must sell 400 season tickets per day to avoid a blackout.
On Thursday, the chamber hosted a Team Teal event at the West Touchdown Club at EverBank Field.
Chamber members received information on season ticket sales and were reminded of the importance of being an NFL city by Ray Driver, chair of the chamber’s Sustaining the Jaguars committee, along with Weaver and Team Teal Commissioner Tony Boselli.
Boselli said that having an NFL team in Jacksonville makes it easier on chamber President Wally Lee and chair Hugh Greene in recruiting businesses to relocate to Northest Florida.
“Having the team here improves our quality of life and businesses look for that,” said Boselli, the Jaguars’ first draft pick for its 1995 inaugural season. It’s his second year to serve as commissioner of Team Teal.
Team Teal is a grassroots effort to support the Jaguars and reward those who purchase Jaguars season tickets and encourage others to do the same.
The group is an initiative of Touchdown Jacksonville: Revive the Pride, an association of civic leaders and citizens who want the city to capitalize on having an NFL franchise.
About 350 people attended the event.
“The Jaguars are a significant contributor to the quality of life in Jacksonville,” said Lee. “They provide Jacksonville with the distinction of being one of only 32 cities in the country to host an NFL franchise. Businesses notice that, and that puts us on another level from other cities.”
As of the weekend, the Jaguars sold 33,277 season tickets and 1,696 group and single game tickets. It needs to sell 15,984 more to avoid a blackout. According to Jaguars management, the blackout deadline is 72 hours before kickoff of each game. In the regular season that is usually 1 p.m. Thursday for a Sunday game.
During the mixer, the team held its first evening practice about 200 yards from the West Touchdown Club.
Although the signing of the team’s top draft pick, quarterback Blaine Gabbert, received most of the fans’ attention, Jaguars executives also were drawing attention to other changes for the 2011 season at EverBank Field.
“We are pushing for healthier options at the stadium this season,” said Bill Prescott, senior vice president of stadium operations and chief financial officer.
“We asked the fans what they wanted and they told us healthier food options, like gluten-free food,” he said.
Prescott explained that the Jaguars are developing a mobile app that will help direct guests to different food options in the stadium.
“It’s currently in development, but we are pushing to have it ready by the first regular season home game Sept. 11,” said Prescott.
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