A.G. Gancarski
A bit less than a year ago, the Jacksonville Jaguars held 2015’s State of the Franchise; what a difference a year makes between then and the edition Friday morning at 11.
“The State of the Franchise address is invariably a political affair,” I wrote last February, “and this year was no exception. A clue to the hierarchy could be gleaned from the VIP seating. In the first row, Mayor Brown and Jags Coach Gus Bradley sat next to each other, joking like old friends before the event. The second row had members of the Petway family — strong Lenny Curry supporters who were instrumental in both the genesis of the franchise two decades ago and in a sponsorship deal announced today. And the third row had Mayoral candidate Bill Bishop and some other City Councilmen.”
Spoiler alert: Alvin and Gus will not resume their chit chat. Expect Mayor Curry to be in the catbird seat. And Council President Greg Anderson.
In 2015, Shad Khan acknowledged the Mayor and City Council President Clay Yarborough — perhaps a strategic move with the last one, as Khan is going to need Council support sooner than later during this process. “It felt good watching the video and [Jaguars] football again,” Khan said.
“I want to make it clear that it’s my responsibility … to deliver better results on game day,” Khan said in 2015, adding a refrain familiar to long-suffering Jags fans and Jacksonville residents alike: “we’re on the verge of turning the corner.”
Well, the names will change in 2016. But bet on this: you’ll hear that theme recur.
The big sell: the Shipyards proposal. $17.5 million of Capital Improvement Funds were budgeted to environmental remediation to that end in August.
And then there was the Mutual Admiration Society between the mayor and the Jags owner:
After the event, Mayor Brown and Khan spoke to assembled media. Brown described the plan as having “great vision”, one that makes “Downtown a top priority”; a “visionary, iconic plan”.
“Shad’s always been interested in the Shipyards,” the Mayor continued, describing Khan as a “visionary leader that understands business.” As for the plan? The Mayor is “committed 1000 percent”, and “we’ll do our part to make sure the site is ready.”
Khan, for his part, believes “we’ve got to get moving forward” on the project. When asked why the proposal was omnibus rather than piecemeal, he was characteristically blunt. “A piece at a time doesn’t work — we’ve got to have a big vision”, and described the project as a “franchise stabilizer”.
Khan removed all doubt about his support for Mayor Brown also — there had been rumors floating around, since Khan’s appearance at a GOP fundraiser last year where he was introduced by Lenny Curry, that the Jaguars owner may lend support to the challenger.
“I support Alvin Brown, and I’m going to be supporting Alvin Brown. He does a great job for our city,” Khan stated.
Things are different now. The global economy is weird: oil is as close to free, in terms of real dollars, as ever, and the Bank of Japan set negative interest rates around the same time last night that Ben Carson was serving up his foreign policy word salad.
The Shipyards have taken a back burner to the $90 million in borrowed money (1/2 from the city) for Jaguars stadium complex development.
Meanwhile, the legacy of 2015’s speech: Shad Khan saying that he would take an active role in local politics.
He lost nothing by backing Alvin Brown for Mayor, and the 19-0 vote on the amphitheater deal says that much.
But since he decided to take an active role in Jacksonville politics, one might wonder what his positions are on issues besides public dollars for “franchise stability” might be.
Where is Khan on the murder wave? Does he back the Jax Journey programs?
Where is Khan on the Human Rights Ordinance? He does business in London and Illinois… would the First Baptist Church approach, the Ken Adkins and Raymond Johnson approach, fly there?
Will media ask him these questions?
We already know the Jaguars’ on-field performance is a “work in progress.”
The more compelling work in progress, though, is the evolving identity of Shad Khan as a political actor.
