Ben Hill Griffin Stadium would float Shad Khan's boat | Whitley
What about Kismet?
That’s the first thing I thought of after hearing the Jacksonville Jaguars might play some games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Kismet is Jaguar owner Shad Khan’s 312-foot yacht. The name means destiny or fate, and Khan likes to dock his $200-million boat near stadiums where his team plays.
That might be a problem in Gainesville, along with about 2,492 other things.
But we can dream, right?
This fantasy started a couple of weeks ago when Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry said the Jaguars would need an interim stadium when TIAA Bank Field is being rebuilt. The project would displace the team for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
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Orlando, Tallahassee and Gainesville were immediately mentioned as possible alternatives.
“I think anytime we can bring big events to Gainesville, it’s good,” Florida Athletic Director Scott Stricklin said. “I’m not sure what all it entails, but it’s certainly worth a conversation.”
It should be noted that Curry got ahead of the game a bit. The Jaguars and Jacksonville must first agree on how to finance a billion-dollar stadium upgrade. That could get messy.
Assuming a deal is reached, construction might uproot the team for only a year. Or maybe not at all.
If they don’t reach a deal, Khan’s yacht and team might leave port and permanently drop anchor in the River Thames. Hello, London Jaguars.
This whole stadium/move thing is wrapped in speculation. That hasn’t stopped other cities from batting their eyes at Khan, hoping he’ll bring Trevor Lawrence to their stadiums for a couple of years.
Frankly, our fair city is a long shot. But it’s my civic duty to point out a few things to Mr. Khan as he weighs his options.
Reasons for Jaguars to call Gainesville home ... if only temporarily
On one hand, Orlando makes a lot of sense as a temporary home. Camping World Stadium sits empty and there are roughly 12.9 million hotels nearby.
On the other hand, that stadium has the ambience of a truck stop bathroom. Just about every pro team in Orlando history (Rage, Thunder, Renegades, Tuskers, Guardians, Apollos, Pride, Magic) has either stunk or gone out of business. The Jags would probably fall under the same demonic curse.
Orlando is also farther from Jacksonville than Gainesville. Scoff if you want, but gas will probably cost $7.99 a gallon in 2027.
The shortest drive for Jags fans would be to Hodges Stadium. You’ve probably never heard of it because it’s at the University of North Florida and seats 12,000 people.
It would take $100 million just to get it up to minimal NFL standards. Khan didn’t become a billionaire 12 times over by wasting that kind of cash.
That leaves Tallahassee. Too far. The team hotel would be a Motel 3½. The current team at Doak Campbell Stadium has never even sniffed an SEC title.
That brings us to Gainesville and the iconic Swamp. It’ s an easy 90-minute drive from Jacksonville, assuming you don’t get pulled over for going 35.2 mph in Waldo’s 35-mph zone.
About 90,000 people show up for Gator games, so the area could absorb the influx of NFL fans. Hotel availability might be tight on weekends in which both UF and the Jags play, but that probably wouldn’t be often.
Last season, they had home games on the same weekend three times. This fall, it’s only twice.
With proper planning, dual games could be completely avoided. Though a Gators-Jags double bill could be a lot of fun.
The NFL is all about luxury suites, and Ben Hill Griffin Stadium has about 80 of them. That’s as many as TIAA Bank Field.
I can’t speak for Ben Sasse, but I bet he’d let visiting owners use the President’s Suite. Even Jerry Jones.
As for Kahn’s yacht, there’s always Lake Alice. I’m not sure how it would get there, or if it would even fit in the lake. But we can’t let such niggling details take our eyes off the prize.
The Gainesville Jaguars. The NFL in The Swamp.
With all due respect to our fine competition, it feels like Kismet.
David Whitley is The Gainesville Sun's sports columnist. Contact him at dwhitley@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidEWhitley
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: UF's Swamp would make a good rental home for the Jacksonville Jaguars
