When a team’s season ticket holders give up their season tickets, it is called “churn,’’ and churn “is a problem for the Jaguars and one of the reasons why they are lagging in local revenue,” according to Vito Stellino of the FLORIDA TIMES-UNION. Only 75% of the Jaguars’ season-ticket holders from last year “have renewed.” That is an “increase from last year’s number” of 65.44% but “nowhere near” the 90% threshold they need to have sellouts. Jaguars President Mark Lamping said, “We’re in better shape than we were a year ago, but we’re not in as good a shape as we need to be a year from now. We have a long way to go.” Lamping added, “Just beating our heads against the wall and saying as soon as the team starting winning, everything will be fine, that’s very shortsighted. Yeah, the most important thing is winning but I wouldn’t put it [on] only one thing. There are a lot of other things that need to support that winning" (JACKSONVILLE.com, 5/15). In Jacksonville, Gene Frenette writes Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell and head coach Gus Bradley are “about as in lockstep” as any GM and head coach can possibly be. But even those most pessimistic about the Jaguars “have to give the team’s front-line leaders this much: [Jaguars Owner Shad Khan] and his organization are doing everything within reason to connect with season-ticketholders and casual fans.” SI’s Peter King said, “I see a team that has made a lot of progress toward respectability. … You can just tell Khan has given every business person and fan in Jacksonville every indication that he wants to make it work there.” Frenette writes between the $63M stadium upgrades, the player acquisitions, and how the Jaguars are trying to "fully engage fans, this franchise has synergy again” (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 5/16).
