JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars have been open and honest about how critical playing in London is for the long-term stability of the franchise in Jacksonville.
Thursday’s breaking news that Jaguars owner Shad Khan has offered to purchase London’s Wembley Stadium for a reported £500 million is part of that equation. The team made it clear during its annual state of the franchise last week that its grip on the London market is being threatened by other NFL teams’ interest in playing there.
Khan’s purchase of Wembley would add significant additional revenue and therefore strengthen the team’s financial footing in Jacksonville. That revenue would include food and beverage sales and suite revenue, for example. Jaguars president Mark Lamping said there are approximately 30 non-NFL games or events held at Wembley and that revenue would help Khan keep the Jaguars in Jacksonville.
“The revenue potential at Wembley stadium compared to EverBank field is significant,” Lamping said. “We’ve talked about the importance of London to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Those dollars that we generate in London make us stronger and more stable here in Jacksonville.
“It’s a really critical part of our future.”
The Jaguars have moved a home game to London annually since 2013 and will do so through the 2020 season. The deal has been beneficial to the franchise because the NFL granted the team extended territorial rights in the United Kingdom, and the additional ticket revenue from a game at the 90,000-seat stadium has had a positive impact on the team's local revenue.
Overall, Lamping said London accounts for 11 percent of the franchise's local revenue -- down from 12 percent in 2016 and 15 percent in 2014.
If Khan were to purchase Wembley Stadium it would ensure that the team could continue to play in London indefinitely as well as allow him to earn additional revenue from the other events, including NFL games, which are held there.
That, Khan said in a statement, would solidify the Jaguars’ future in Jacksonville.
“The games the Jaguars play at Wembley are essential to the financial stability of the Jaguars in Jacksonville, which is one of the smallest markets in the NFL,” Khan said in a statement posted on the official website of Fulham FC, which he also owns. “If my ownership interests were to include Wembley Stadium, it would protect the Jaguars' position in London at a time when other NFL teams are understandably becoming more interested in this great city. And the stronger the Jaguars are in London, the more stable and promising the Jaguars' future will be in Jacksonville.”
The Jaguars have invested in London in various ways. They have established a Jaguars fan club called Union Jax that has grown from 5,500 members in 2013 to 86,000 members in 2018. The team has helped establish a flag football program in primary schools and secondary schools, and Lamping said participation grew more than 225 percent over last year. The team also established a country-wide flag football tournament.
The team also has brought its Honor Rows program (free tickets to youths who set and achieve goals related to personal, physical and academic achievement) to Wembley Stadium and produces a weekly program during the season called Jags Jam that is distributed throughout the United Kingdom.
Lamping said UK sponsorship of American football -- either directly with the NFL or with some of the Jaguars’ programs outlined above -- has increased by an average of 25 percent annually.
The Jaguars want to capitalize on that because the London/UK market is 10 times bigger than the Jacksonville market (which ranked 27th in the NFL in 2017, per Sports Media Watch). In addition, Wembley Stadium is 30 percent bigger than EverBank Field (67,932) and the average ticket price at Wembley Stadium for a Jaguars game is 40 percent higher than at EverBank Field.
“The revenue potential is almost double when we play at Wembley versus when we play our games here in Jacksonville,” Lamping said. “... A lot of teams see in London what we see in London and we have to protect our position.”