There are three NFL teams in currently in the process of finding new homes: the Bears, the Titans and the Jaguars. We can debate whether or not any of the three are truly necessary, but the most necessary of the group, by far, is Jacksonville.
The city has two major tenants, the Jaguars and the Florida-Georgia game, and both have options elsewhere.
The NFL has made no attempt to hide its desire to put a team in Europe full-time, and the Jaguars have been their guinea pig. If the 32 teams were ranked most-to-least likely to move to London on a permanent basis, the Jags would be the first, second, third, fourth and fifth most likely.
The Florida-Georgia game could temporarily leave Jax due to stadium construction, and it's anyone's guess as to whether it would return. Bringing the game to campus is always an option, especially with Kirby Smart steadfastly arguing to bring the game back to Athens. Short of that, an alternating arrangement between, say, Atlanta and Orlando could easily come to fruition.
With all that hanging in the air, the folks in Jacksonville need to knock their new stadium campaign not only out of the park, but beyond the bleachers, past the concourse and out of the stadium altogether.
On Wednesday, we saw their first shot.
This video, nearly five minutes, hits all the highlights of every projected stadium, then doubles back for more. Not only will the new stadium be a newer place to watch a football game, it would be a "revitalized and reenegerized urban destination," "a new measure for what a sports and entertainment experience can, and should, be," "lead to the reimgination and renaissance of existing nearby communities," serve as "an economic generator that has been missing for too long," "help to redefine downtown Jacksonville as a place where business and higher education intersect," "a driver in the growth and evolution of our industries and workforce," "creating jobs," "inspiring careers" and "caputr(e) the imagination of people everywhere."
Rumor has it that each of the stadium's 62,000 seats (expandable up to 71,500 for major events) would burn fat and revitalize the skin of each occupant, but that line was cut from the final script.
It looks like... a spaceship? A fish tank? A wedding ring? An unapologetic of LA's SoFi Stadium? All of the above?
Here are still photos.
The coolest feature, in my opinion, would be the ability to customize the LED lights for each game.
For comparison purposes, here's SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
And a view of the "open air" concourses.
It's an open debate, at best, as to whether stadiums benefit the communities that many are arm-twisted into funding. Jacksonville's case may be an exception.