The Jacksonville Jaguars are one of the newest football teams, joining the league along with the Carolina Panthers in the 1995 season as part of the NFL’s planned two team expansion. Support for a professional team in Jacksonville started in the early 1970’s as they put teams in different professional leagues over the years before finally being accepted by the NFL. In the 1980’s, Jacksonville made a strong push to get the Houston Oilers. The mayor at the time promised the Oilers owner they would sell 82,000 Jacksonville Jaguars tickets every game for the first 10 years in an attempt to persuade him; however the deal did not fall through. Jacksonville finally got to sell its first Jacksonville Jaguars tickets in 1995, a season in which the team finished with a dismal 4-12 record. Attendance was high the first year, but the team sold even more Jacksonville Jaguars tickets in their second year as they finished 9-7 and made their first playoff appearance in franchise history. Success in the playoffs came early for the Jaguars as they won their first-round game 30-27, and created one of the biggest NFL upsets in recent memory by defeating the one seed Denver Broncos. They eventually lost in the AFC Championship game, but the Jags success continued the next three years as they made the playoffs each year and won two Division Championships in a row. Attendance figures were up while the team was having success in its early years, but as the production dropped off in the 2000’s so did the sale of Jacksonville Jaguars tickets.
EverBank Field has been the home of the Jaguars since they were introduced as an expansion franchise. EverBank Field can hold 67,246 people who purchase Jacksonville Jaguars tickets, and can be expanded to 84,000 seats for college football and special events. Jacksonville was home to some of the biggest college football games of the year, leading to speculation that it was a prime location for a professional sports team. This was true as many fans purchased Jacksonville Jaguars tickets during the early years, but with the Jaguars recent lack of success and the popularity of college football, ticket sales have declined. There was speculation during the 2011 season that the team would be sold and moved out of the state due weak sales of Jacksonville Jaguars tickets. The team was eventually sold as expected, but new owner, Shahid Khan, intends to keep the franchise in Jacksonville. With many fans these days preferring to watch football from home rather than at the stadium on Sundays the Jaguars are facing even more difficulty regarding attendance, a sad fact considering EverBank Field is one of the nicest stadiums in football.
12-4-12: The Jags have looked like a much better team since Chad Henne has taken over at Quarterback. Forcing the Texans into overtime was a huge surprise and since then they have gone 1-1. Their next matchup is against the New York Jets at home. At 2-10 they have no shot at the playoffs but may look to play spoiler and build towards next season. Chad Henne has thrown for over 800 yards in three games since taking over as full time starter.