Jags’ Mark Lamping says decisions on London games are on hold and out of the team’s hands
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ Lot J project has garnered some momentum as of late as owner Shad Khan and Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry revealed their plans for the district next to TIAA Bank Field in early October. However, with that came a lot of questions from the Jags’ citizens and Jags president Mark Lamping finally got around to answering them Thursday in a virtual town hall discussion.
Another important topic that Lamping addressed was the Jags’ future involvement with the NFL International Series in London, which he didn’t seen too certain of.
“Jacksonville is the home of the Jaguars. It has been the team’s home for the past 26 seasons, and it will continue to be our home into the future,” Lamping said.
“The London game has been extremely important to the Jaguars and has also provided benefits to the Jacksonville community. However, the NFL controls the fate of all games played in London and the teams assigned to play in those games, and the Jaguars’ current agreement to play games has expired. Any future decisions on London are on hold and out of the Jaguars’ hands.”
With COVID-19 being an issue in the league, this is understandable as the NFL might be at a standstill with the International Series. They’ve had issues with the coronavirus at several team facilities after opting not to take the type of bubble approaches other sports organizations have. That said, traveling across seas simply doesn’t feel like a responsible move.
Lamping’s comments also raises the question of whether it’s possible that the NFL is considering another team (post-coronavirus, of course) to make London their second home, but its simply hard to say.
In 2019, the Jags revealed that they would be having two games (as opposed to one) in London this season. It was a move that wasn’t well received by the fan base despite Khan’s notion of how financially important having the International Series in the organization’s back pocket was. Now, due to the circumstances, fans will have to wait until more becomes available on a potential extension, but clearly the fans would like to get their home games back in the future.
