(10-07-2024, 09:05 PM)83Austin83 Wrote: (10-07-2024, 12:37 PM)TheDuke007 Wrote: I agree. Orlando has minimal leverage. Getting the Jaguar games would be a big economic benefit to Orlando plus great exposure for both the city and the stadium. If Orlando doesn't get the games, they get nothing. How much can they really bluff? Besides, I don't think it will take much arm twisting to have Orlando make renovations as most of those renovations would remain and benefit Orlando going forward. They are already making renovations without even knowing if the Jaguars will go there. The Jaguars are the ones with the better leverage because they have the option of Gainesville which is both closer to Jacksonville and has a larger stadium. The Jaguars will likely play the two cities off each other to get the best deal.
I do think Khan will ultimately select Orlando in hopes of expanding the fan base, but the idea that they are going to get on their knees and beg Orlando is ridiculous. If Orlando gets too greedy, they just go to Gainesville. Orlando knows this, so they'll likely make a very attractive offer.
Khan is a fool if he thinks playing one season in Orlando will suddenly make a lot of people in Orlando support the Jags. Heck most here in Orlando dislike the Jags.
Orlando doesn't really need the Jags. There are plenty of events and conventions that come to the city. The impact of 8 home games in Orlando economically is very little for Orlando.
Like you said, if Orlando doesn't get the games, they get nothing. That's what Orlando gets now, so the city would lose nothing. You are right that Camping World Stadium is already getting renovations, but with the amount that Khan and the Jags would require, they would have to pay for a lot of it.
Orlando still has a lot of leverage. At the end of the day it's the Jags who don't have a home for an entire season. Orlando loses nothing if they don't get the games. The Jags, if they don't try to help Orlando out, most likely forever lose any chance to develop a fan base in the largest city in the U.S. without an NFL team. The Jags will need Orlando for that season far more than Orlando needs the Jags and that's where Orlando has the leverage. Whether Orlando uses it or not is another question, but they should.
Gainesville is not a great option for the Jags outside of proximity. The Jags would play second fiddle to the Gators, the natural grass field would be torn up and even ion the Jags average 60,000, that means the stadium is 1/3 empty. Never mind the lack of hotels in the area.
Khan doesn't need to win over the Orlando market.
And the city or O has no leverage in the opportunity to have the Jaguars bring them 50-60K visitors six times in a few months time. They have the freedom to negotiate a fair deal in stadium improvement and prep. That's about it.
It would be a welcome boon of tourist dollars spent in the local economy. No city wants to scare that away by overstepping in the fashion you describe.
