Report: Weaver trying to sell Jaguars

[Spott]

http://news.jacksonville.com/justin/...-sell-jaguars/

The Jaguars had no immediate comment Wednesday night on a Philadelphia Daily News report that team owner Wayne Weaver is negotiating to sell the team to billionaire C. Dean Metropoulos, who could move the team to Los Angeles.

Team spokesman Ryan Robinson said Weaver was traveling on Wednesday and wouldn’t be available until today.

Metropoulos, 61, the former chairman and chief executive officer of New Jersey-based Pinnacle Foods, denied the newspaper’s report.

“I must tell you I haven’t had any such discussions,” Metropoulos was quoted in the Daily News. “I wouldn’t know how to give you any credibility to that because I don’t know anything about it.”

The Daily News reported that discussions between Weaver and Metropoulos are being brokered by Sal Galatioto of the New York sports investment firm Galatioto Sports Partners. The newspaper reported that Metropoulos previously has tried to buy two other NFL franchises — the Oakland Raiders and the Miami Dolphins — but was unsuccessful.

Metropoulos, according to the report, is interested in a 100 percent purchase of the Jaguars immediately, though unnamed sources told the paper he would keep Weaver on for two years while he learns how to operate an NFL franchise. The sources told the newspaper that Metropoulos would bring in minority partners with him, and that the Jaguars would be a candidate to move to Los Angeles, which is seeking an NFL team.

Weaver has consistently denied any interest in selling in the team, though he acknowledged last year that has was looking for additional investors for the franchise.

The Jaguars, who joined the league in 1995, reached the second round of the AFC playoffs last season, but had three of their eight home games blacked out because they weren’t sold out. They’re consistently mentioned in media reports as a candidate to move to Los Angeles, but Weaver has consistently denied that the team is for sale.

[gblowfish]

Weird, they just had a superbowl not too long ago.

Better cities would be:

L.A.
Toronto (who might get the Bills anyway)
Portland

They wouldn't move to Oklahoma City. All those guys are Cowboys fans.

[StcChief]

LA seems logical, NFL has a big Hardon for that media market and potential ad $$$.....

but would go/or watch on TV there? on Sunday afternoon when the desert/beach/mtns etc are full of weekend warriors.

[RP_McMurphy]

LA repeat after me......doesn't want a NFL team. The Raiders and Rams couldn't get out of town quick enough. If the Jaguars would move they move back out within 10 years. LA is not a good football town.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by gblowfish

Weird, they just had a superbowl not too long ago.

Better cities would be:

L.A.
Toronto (who might get the Bills anyway)
Portland

They wouldn't move to Oklahoma City. All those guys are Cowboys fans.

San Antonio has been clamoring for a team for a long time. The have the population to support it but they have a few roadblocks as well.

1. Too close to Dallas and Houston. Huge Cowboy fanbase here.

2. They would need a new stadium or the Alamodoem would need serious upgrades.

[StcChief]

Originally Posted by RP_McMurphy

LA repeat after me......doesn't want a NFL team. The Raiders and Rams couldn't get out of town quick enough. If the Jaguars would move they move back out within 10 years. LA is not a good football town.

SD and LA should just "share" the Chargers they practically do now.

Jags should have been expanded in STL. as The Stallions. that has a donkey kinda sound.....

now owner see's no love/money in JV. Throw out Rams and move 'em here.

[Chiefnj2]

I wouldn't blame him for selling the team, but Weaver is denying it:


In a brief but forceful interview with reporters from jaguars.com and “The Florida Times-Union” on Thursday, Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver delivered an emotional message to the team’s fans: “I’m not selling the team. The team is not moving to (Los Angeles),” Weaver said.

Weaver was reacting to a report in Wednesday’s “Philadelphia Daily News” that claimed Weaver was in the process of selling the Jaguars to New Jersey food king C. Dean Metropoulos. The report speculated that Metropoulos would move the team to Los Angeles.

What was the impetus to the story?

“I have no clue,” Weaver said, but he included the possibility that Metropoulos’ name may have surfaced as the result of the Jaguars’ intention a year-and-a-half ago to sell minority interest in the team for the purpose of paying down the team’s debt.

“I’m frustrated. People take things out of context,” Weaver said, his voice choked with emotion. “This team is not going to California. This team is the Jacksonville Jaguars. I don’t know how I can do anything more to reaffirm my commitment. I want our fans to get as excited as I am.

[bowener]

I dont understand the LA thing either. If anything they should wait a year or two to see what happens with the chargers situation. Arent they wanting a new stadium and that supposedly isnt going to happen? Just move them to LA, then they can keep their fan base where it is (at least in the same state).

Las Vegas was second in the expansion team voting to LA too, I think. I think that would be one hell of a place to have a football team. The stadium would be absolutely crazy. If Caesars Palace owned the stadium they could rebuild circus maximus and seat 150,000 people. But I imagine gambling and drugs may become an issue... or not, I have no idea. I just kind of want a team to go there so they could possibly play in a giant pyramid or palace or hell, maybe a spaceship or something. Fan base would be an odd mix too. You would have permanent residences and then you would have that weeks high rollers in the box seating because they were given comp. tickets for spending 100K in the casino nearby.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by bowener

I dont understand the LA thing either.

This has been detailed in the past on this forum but I'll briefly summarize:

1946: Cleveland Rams move to LA.
1980: After the death of her husband in 1979, Frontiere moves the Rams to Anaheim, even though they'd been successful in Los Angeles for over 35 years.
1994: Frontiere leaves Anaheim for St. Louis.

She was a money-grubbing whore. She didn't care about the fans, the sellouts, the players or team. The Rams leaving Los Angeles and Anaheim had nothing to do with the fans.

As far as the Raiders, Greasy Al is a bigger scumbag than Frontiere. The Raiders had huge fan support in LA and it's his fault that they didn't stay. He took $10 million dollars from the city of Irwindale as a deposit which he never returned. He's a scumbag but Raiders jerseys are seen everywhere in Los Angeles to this day.

Bottom line: There are several multi-billion dollar developers standing in line to build a billion dollar football stadium in Los Angeles. With the proper stadium location, it'll be sold-out forever. There's over 20 million people in the LA basin and the college teams (USC & UCLA) routintely sell out their stadiums.

Los Angeles just needs the right team, right owner and right stadium. If those things fall in line, it'll be extremely successful. And the television contract will be through the roof.

[bogey]

Originally Posted by DaKCMan AP

Sure, but Oakland doesn't sell out and neither did the LA Raiders. Hell, the Chargers don't always sell out.

Nobody wants to go to Oakland. It's too dangerous.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

This has been detailed in the past on this forum but I'll briefly summarize:

1946: Cleveland Rams move to LA.
1980: After the death of her husband in 1979, Frontiere moves the Rams to Anaheim, even though they'd been successful in Los Angeles for over 35 years.
1994: Frontiere leaves Anaheim for St. Louis.

She was a money-grubbing whore. She didn't care about the fans, the sellouts, the players or team. The Rams leaving Los Angeles and Anaheim had nothing to do with the fans.

As far as the Raiders, Greasy Al is a bigger scumbag than Frontiere. The Raiders had huge fan support in LA and it's his fault that they didn't stay. He took $10 million dollars from the city of Irwindale as a deposit which he never returned. He's a scumbag but Raiders jerseys are seen everywhere in Los Angeles to this day.

Bottom line: There are several multi-billion dollar developers standing in line to build a billion dollar football stadium in Los Angeles. With the proper stadium location, it'll be sold-out forever. There's over 20 million people in the LA basin and the college teams (USC & UCLA) routintely sell out their stadiums.

Los Angeles just needs the right team, right owner and right stadium. If those things fall in line, it'll be extremely successful. And the television contract will be through the roof.

Thank you, LA will support a team just fine. The stadium is the only problem.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by DaKCMan AP

Sure, but Oakland doesn't sell out and neither did the LA Raiders. Hell, the Chargers don't always sell out.

The LA Raiders didn't sell out for two reasons:

1. The stadium at that time was surrounded by a dangerous urban area. Since that time, there has been more than $20 billion dollars invested in Downtown Los Angeles (a figure that will double in the next 10 years).

2. Since the Coliseum seats 100,000 people, that's a lot of tickets to sell on a weekly basis. I think at some point that was re-designated to 65,000 but that after Greasy Al began putting a sub-standard team on the field. That, combined with a dangerous area was enough to stay away.

[Valiant]

Originally Posted by StcChief

LA seems logical, NFL has a big Hardon for that media market and potential ad $$$.....

but would go/or watch on TV there? on Sunday afternoon when the desert/beach/mtns etc are full of weekend warriors.

How many failures in the LA market will it take to convince them to quit wasting money there???

There is a reason why teams keep leaving there.. People have other stuff to do or root for other teams..

Hell if they are smart they put the team in Las Vegas, New York or Chicago.. Those areas could support the team..

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Valiant

How many failures in the LA market will it take to convince them to quit wasting money there???

There is a reason why teams keep leaving there.. People have other stuff to do or root for other teams..

Hell if they are smart they put the team in Las Vegas, New York or Chicago.. Those areas could support the team..

Way to read the thread

Are you saying that the LA area doesn't support the Dodgers, Angels, Kings, Ducks, Clippers, Lakers or USC & UCLA football?

Because if that's what you're implying, you're dead wrong.

And you're completely incorrect as to the reasons why the Rams & Raiders (who were only in LA briefly to begin with) left.

[Valiant]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

This has been detailed in the past on this forum but I'll briefly summarize:

1946: Cleveland Rams move to LA.
1980: After the death of her husband in 1979, Frontiere moves the Rams to Anaheim, even though they'd been successful in Los Angeles for over 35 years.
1994: Frontiere leaves Anaheim for St. Louis.

She was a money-grubbing whore. She didn't care about the fans, the sellouts, the players or team. The Rams leaving Los Angeles and Anaheim had nothing to do with the fans.

As far as the Raiders, Greasy Al is a bigger scumbag than Frontiere. The Raiders had huge fan support in LA and it's his fault that they didn't stay. He took $10 million dollars from the city of Irwindale as a deposit which he never returned. He's a scumbag but Raiders jerseys are seen everywhere in Los Angeles to this day.

Bottom line: There are several multi-billion dollar developers standing in line to build a billion dollar football stadium in Los Angeles. With the proper stadium location, it'll be sold-out forever. There's over 20 million people in the LA basin and the college teams (USC & UCLA) routintely sell out their stadiums.

Los Angeles just needs the right team, right owner and right stadium. If those things fall in line, it'll be extremely successful. And the television contract will be through the roof.

So you need the right team, right owner and right stadium for success?? I think that is anywhere if we are cherry picking.. Most of LA is transplants??? Most root for other teams??

If you get the team and they fail for 5-7 years how will the LA market treat it?? Wouldn't they just go do other things?? I mean hypothetically we look at having money crunch right now with oil/jobs/housing and then add to the fact that you have people spending money on USC/UCLA or driving to the other NFL teams in the state and how many of those will just be able to fork over extra money for season tickets for the Jags??

Las Vegas would seem like a better choice to me... Comping tickets from the Casino to sell the stadium out would ensure it not being blocked out.. And you still would get the California transplants every game that drive to LV anyway..

[Valiant]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Way to read the thread

Are you saying that the LA area doesn't support the Dodgers, Angels, Kings, Ducks, Clippers, Lakers or USC & UCLA football?

Because if that's what you're implying, you're dead wrong.

And you're completely incorrect as to the reasons why the Rams & Raiders (who were only in LA briefly to begin with) left.

Besides college football and the Lakers how much do the other teams sell out??? Even if by your definition the Raiders and Rams left on other terms, the sheer fact of having so many people going to the games should have kept them there??? And I also said that people go to other events already..

You are saying that you have the people to support it, but yet those teams could not get fans??? Then you say that LA has to have the perfect owner, stadium and winning team to get fans to come???

Which is it??? Does it take a perfect team/owner setup and 20 million people to sell out a stadium to get a team??