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| Shahid Khan keen for Wembley to be a key player either side of the Atlantic | Shahid Khan keen for Wembley to be a key player either side of the Atlantic |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| “There is absolutely nothing that has arisen since this entered the public domain that has been a surprise to us.” On the basis Shahid Khan’s £900m bid to purchase Wembley was the conclusion to years of planning, perhaps this is hardly revelatory stuff from Mark Lamping, one of the Pakistani-American billionaire’s most trusted lieutenants. It is, however, important that such background work took place: Khan’s ongoing attempt to remove English football’s national stadium from the Football Association’s ownership has triggered the necessary battling of widespread perception. | “There is absolutely nothing that has arisen since this entered the public domain that has been a surprise to us.” On the basis Shahid Khan’s £900m bid to purchase Wembley was the conclusion to years of planning, perhaps this is hardly revelatory stuff from Mark Lamping, one of the Pakistani-American billionaire’s most trusted lieutenants. It is, however, important that such background work took place: Khan’s ongoing attempt to remove English football’s national stadium from the Football Association’s ownership has triggered the necessary battling of widespread perception. |
| In London the vital public relations element relates to Wembley retaining historic status. There is another, significant challenge on the opposite side of the Atlantic. Khan’s ownership of the Jacksonville Jaguars, plus the NFL team’s now recurring fixtures at Wembley, fuelled the notion of a permanent switch. | In London the vital public relations element relates to Wembley retaining historic status. There is another, significant challenge on the opposite side of the Atlantic. Khan’s ownership of the Jacksonville Jaguars, plus the NFL team’s now recurring fixtures at Wembley, fuelled the notion of a permanent switch. |
| Lamping, the Jaguars’ president, has fought hard to douse such sentiment. “There certainly has been a percentage of our fans who were nervous about that,” he admits. “If the fans would judge us based on what we have done versus the fear of what we could do, I don’t think there would be a level of nervousness. But this is a very small market by NFL standards. The prior owner was not shy to point out that: ‘If the community doesn’t support the team, there is a high likelihood that the team would relocate.’ At that time there was speculation about moving to Los Angeles. | Lamping, the Jaguars’ president, has fought hard to douse such sentiment. “There certainly has been a percentage of our fans who were nervous about that,” he admits. “If the fans would judge us based on what we have done versus the fear of what we could do, I don’t think there would be a level of nervousness. But this is a very small market by NFL standards. The prior owner was not shy to point out that: ‘If the community doesn’t support the team, there is a high likelihood that the team would relocate.’ At that time there was speculation about moving to Los Angeles. |
| “After Shahid bought the team, he made a commitment to do everything he could to make it financially stable here in Jacksonville. That’s why London is so important. The fact we are playing one game a year at Wembley now, that we have other commercial interests in London and throughout the UK, has really made us stronger here in Jacksonville. I think most of our fans understand the role London plays.” | “After Shahid bought the team, he made a commitment to do everything he could to make it financially stable here in Jacksonville. That’s why London is so important. The fact we are playing one game a year at Wembley now, that we have other commercial interests in London and throughout the UK, has really made us stronger here in Jacksonville. I think most of our fans understand the role London plays.” |
| Khan did not become the 217th richest person in the world – he has a net worth reported at £5.2bn – on the basis of punts. If the concept of teams relocating to different cities – or countries – is alien to British sports fans, the bottom line renders it sensible in this case. Being blunt, Jacksonville does not pay. | |
| “Here’s where we are: Jacksonville is one of the smallest markets in the NFL. It has one of the smallest economies,” adds Lamping. “If you are trying to compete with other NFL teams and doing that on the basis of generating revenue, it is a real challenge here and it has been for quite some time. The way we are trying to address that is finding new streams. London is part of that. The game we play in London is significantly more profitable than an average game in Jacksonville. | “Here’s where we are: Jacksonville is one of the smallest markets in the NFL. It has one of the smallest economies,” adds Lamping. “If you are trying to compete with other NFL teams and doing that on the basis of generating revenue, it is a real challenge here and it has been for quite some time. The way we are trying to address that is finding new streams. London is part of that. The game we play in London is significantly more profitable than an average game in Jacksonville. |
| “If we manage Wembley properly and protect the image, protect all the things that are important to the people who love Wembley as it remains the home of English football forever, plus all other aspects of the business correctly, it should be a profitable investment. If we are successful with that – and, of course, we could also lose money – that helps us back here in Jacksonville. | “If we manage Wembley properly and protect the image, protect all the things that are important to the people who love Wembley as it remains the home of English football forever, plus all other aspects of the business correctly, it should be a profitable investment. If we are successful with that – and, of course, we could also lose money – that helps us back here in Jacksonville. |
| “London strategically is really important to us and it’s really important to Jacksonville that the Jaguars don’t lose our position in London.” | “London strategically is really important to us and it’s really important to Jacksonville that the Jaguars don’t lose our position in London.” |
| The nervousness to which the club president refers – Lamping is also a director of Fulham FC – is difficult to trace. Anecdotally there are suggestions within the Floridian city that the Jaguars would like more state assistance for developments around their stadium. Jacksonville’s mayor, Lenny Curry, has been vocal about the NFL franchise’s value to the city. He also claimed to be “incredibly excited” about the potential Wembley purchase. | The nervousness to which the club president refers – Lamping is also a director of Fulham FC – is difficult to trace. Anecdotally there are suggestions within the Floridian city that the Jaguars would like more state assistance for developments around their stadium. Jacksonville’s mayor, Lenny Curry, has been vocal about the NFL franchise’s value to the city. He also claimed to be “incredibly excited” about the potential Wembley purchase. |
| Casey Ayers, a season ticket holder at the Jaguars, is similarly upbeat. “There’s long been an aspiration in Jacksonville for the Jaguars to have the same kind of brand recognition as the Green Bay Packers, who similarly play in a small NFL market,” he says. “Green Bay’s recognition was in no small part built by playing a portion of their schedule for decades in the larger city of Milwaukee, growing their appeal beyond their small town’s borders to become a more regional team. | Casey Ayers, a season ticket holder at the Jaguars, is similarly upbeat. “There’s long been an aspiration in Jacksonville for the Jaguars to have the same kind of brand recognition as the Green Bay Packers, who similarly play in a small NFL market,” he says. “Green Bay’s recognition was in no small part built by playing a portion of their schedule for decades in the larger city of Milwaukee, growing their appeal beyond their small town’s borders to become a more regional team. |
| “Many of us believe that playing an annual game in London is a grander, 21st-century equivalent of this tactic, allowing the team to grow its fan base well beyond traditional geographic limitations and to capture the hearts of new American football fans in London, the UK and the EU. | “Many of us believe that playing an annual game in London is a grander, 21st-century equivalent of this tactic, allowing the team to grow its fan base well beyond traditional geographic limitations and to capture the hearts of new American football fans in London, the UK and the EU. |
| “Many of us believe that the NFL will not choose to place a permanent team in London but will instead offer something arguably even more interesting: a sampler pack of eight games, featuring alternating sets of 16 teams, with each team surrendering a home game once every four years.” | “Many of us believe that the NFL will not choose to place a permanent team in London but will instead offer something arguably even more interesting: a sampler pack of eight games, featuring alternating sets of 16 teams, with each team surrendering a home game once every four years.” |
| As for now, who turns up? “The conventional wisdom is that it’s a bunch of ex-pats,” says Lamping. “The truth is the exact opposite; only 3% of the people who attend at Wembley are American ex-pats. Only about 35% are from London. So you have a high percentage of people who travel for more than 150 miles, with a significant portion of that coming from continental Europe. The game does well in terms of tourism and an economic impact from that.” | As for now, who turns up? “The conventional wisdom is that it’s a bunch of ex-pats,” says Lamping. “The truth is the exact opposite; only 3% of the people who attend at Wembley are American ex-pats. Only about 35% are from London. So you have a high percentage of people who travel for more than 150 miles, with a significant portion of that coming from continental Europe. The game does well in terms of tourism and an economic impact from that.” |
| Khan, who hails from Lahore, has a well-stated love for London. Beyond that there is a legitimate question as to why this city has been chosen as the NFL’s auxiliary base, not least with political uncertainties in play. | Khan, who hails from Lahore, has a well-stated love for London. Beyond that there is a legitimate question as to why this city has been chosen as the NFL’s auxiliary base, not least with political uncertainties in play. |
| “London is the NFL’s international primary focus. It’s a market they believe with appropriate amount of development over time could potentially be a city to host a full-time franchise,” Lamping says. “Our role is twofold: to do everything we can to stabilise the Jaguars here in Jacksonville but also to support the NFL in terms of developing the London market, whether that ultimately accrues to the Jaguars or another team relocating there. | “London is the NFL’s international primary focus. It’s a market they believe with appropriate amount of development over time could potentially be a city to host a full-time franchise,” Lamping says. “Our role is twofold: to do everything we can to stabilise the Jaguars here in Jacksonville but also to support the NFL in terms of developing the London market, whether that ultimately accrues to the Jaguars or another team relocating there. |
| “I don’t think today it could house a full-time team and I think that’s also what the NFL also believes. But there has been significant growth and there continues to be in terms of the size of the fan base. If that growth continues? I don’t think there is any question that, if the league and the member clubs want a franchise outside of the US, London would be ideal.” | “I don’t think today it could house a full-time team and I think that’s also what the NFL also believes. But there has been significant growth and there continues to be in terms of the size of the fan base. If that growth continues? I don’t think there is any question that, if the league and the member clubs want a franchise outside of the US, London would be ideal.” |
| For now the Jacksonville insistence is on temporary habitation. | For now the Jacksonville insistence is on temporary habitation. |
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