Blackout Lifted

2009: The Blackout Season in Jacksonville?

Written by Synergy Legal, Inc. on 9:18 AM

According to Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union, the Jacksonville Jaguars have already given up on selling out any of their 10 home games within the 72-hour window necessary to lift local TV blackouts.

The Jaguars play the first of 10 home games this year Saturday night — two in the preseason and eight in the regular season — and the team has already announced all 10 will be blacked out on TV because of a lack of ticket sales.

This will be the first time in their 15-year history that they’ve blacked out all 10 games and the stadium might be only, about half-filled Saturday night.

Now I have not been able to find any quote or press release that is directly attributable to the Jaguars organization stating this, but if it is true, one has to think that this could be the beginning of the franchise laying the groundwork to eventually leave town. It was a very curious decision the NFL made 16 years ago when they granted Jacksonville a franchise over Baltimore and St. Louis, two larger markets that eventually got relocated teams and have been doing just fine at the ticket gates. If any of the powers-that-be in Los Angeles who want football back there are paying attention, now would be the time to step up your game.