The Jaguars could be homeless for two seasons, if a major renovation of their Jacksonville stadium occurs. Orlando, some 140 miles away, is ready to roll our the green carpet for the teal team.
Via the Orlando Sentinel, the the CEO of Florida Citrus Sports wants Orlando to be a candidate for the duties.
“We’d love to have the Jags come down here and play,” Steve Hogan said. “If they call, we’re going to be all over it. . . . NFL regular-season football needs to be in Orlando. If we can’t have our own team, then I think Orlando is the perfect market to help build your brand in.”
Hogan added that he and local politicians “will move heaven and earth to make this happen.”
Some have suggested Florida State as a potential alternative, but the Tallahassee Democrat report that there “hasn’t been any contact between FSU” and the Jaguars.
If there’s no acceptable location within Jackonsville itself, it makes plenty of sense to just play the games in London during the renovations. But the renovations likely would entail the kind of lease extension that would take London out of play for a potential permanent move.
Any destination would need to be NFL ready, with among other things the proper communications pipeline for real-time communications between the game site and 345 Park Avenue, for replay reviews.
Ultimately, the issue of the renovations will bring to a head the team’s long-term future in Jacksonville. If they happen, the Jags likely stay through the next decade and beyond. If they don’t happen, the Jags become even more likely to be the team to move to England, if/when any ever do.