NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars Headed to London’s Wembley Stadium

London’s Wembley Stadium, in both its old configuration and its updated version (right), has seen it’s fair share of great football action through the years.

Of course, by football here we mean soccer, not American football.

However, in the past few years, the National Football League has managed to stage some pre-season, and more recently, regular season games at Wembley.

In fact, in October, 2012, the New England Patriots will square off against the St. Louis Rams in London. But now it’s been announced that the Jacksonville Jaguars have inked a multi-season deal at Wembley.

The team will play one game per season there, starting in 2013 and running through 2016.

NFL officials both here and in Britain have even gone so far as to suggest that one day London might be home to an NFL franchise.

Anchor Marco Werman tries to get a handle on what all of this means for the Jaguars, for the team’s players and fans, and for professional football as a whole by speaking with Mark Lamping, President of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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Marco Werman: I’m Marco Werman. This is “The World”. London’s Wembley Stadium has seen some amazing football. Of course, we’re talking football in the British sense – soccer. But starting next year, Wembley will also host American football’s Jacksonville Jaguars. The NFL team has inked a deal to play one game per season in London between 2013 and 2016. It’s not the first time the NFL has gone to London, but it is the first time one team has signed on to play there over multiple seasons. Mark Lamping is President of the Jacksonville Jaguars Organization. He says the team is excited about the deal.

Mark Lamping: There’s no question having the opportunity to make a regular appearance in one of the world’s great cities and one of the most historic stadiums will do nothing but elevate the awareness and the image of the Jacksonville Jaguars and that clearly is a great benefit to us.

Werman: How do the players feel about it with the extra travel and the time difference?

Lamping: Well, the world has gotten a lot smaller over the past several decades. If you look at it from a travel standpoint, traveling from the East Coast of the United States to the West Coast is not that different from traveling from the East Coast to London.

Werman: Are you excited? I mean it’s a big change.

Lamping: I am thrilled. Yeah, it’s not that often that you have the opportunity to play on a world stage. Obviously, the events of the past thirty days and what happened with the Olympics in London has done nothing but increase the image of London as being one of the world’s greatest cities, and for our franchise to have the opportunity to make a regular appearance there, we’re very excited about it and as are our fans here in the United States.

Werman: Won’t fans in Jacksonville get upset that a home game will now involve two expensive days of travel and hotels?

Lamping: Well, I guess if you only look at it in terms of that particular game, you know, our fans really look at it from a much broader perspective. Our folks here in Jacksonville really view this as an opportunity to increase the awareness of the city of Jacksonville, to increase the tourism and provide some economic development opportunities. So as it relates to just the single game, perhaps some may look it as not the most popular development, but when you take a step back and look the growth opportunities in tourism and economic development, it’s a clear winner.

Werman: Mark, I know it’s just one game per season, but is there a direct flight from Jacksonville to London right now?

Lamping: There is not. There obviously will be charters that we’ll be arranging to take the team to London and as well as charters for our fans to make a trip there, but there’s frequent direct service from London in Atlanta which is close to Jacksonville as well as Orlando in Florida. And so perhaps this is something that could grow in the future, but we don’t see the lack of a direct connection today being an obstacle.

Werman: NFL officials both here and Europe have expressed hope that this will eventually lead to a London-based franchise. Would Jacksonville consider moving to London?

Lamping: You know what? Our focus right now is being as successful as we can be here in Jacksonville. We do believe that by playing one game in London for each of the next four years, that strengthens our franchise here in Jacksonville. If you look at what has transpired in the UK over the past number of years, it started with some pre-season games and now you’re seeing regular season games that count. There has been some discussion about adding a second game each year to be played in the UK and I think the Commissioner of the NFL has said it best. If things continue on a very, very positive course, perhaps one day there could be a franchise in London, but that would just be speculation as it relates to the Jacksonville Jaguars at this point.

Werman: Do you think it would be good for the game to have a US football franchise in London?

Lamping: I think so personally. If you look at the growth of the game, American football has experienced tremendous growth outside the United States and I think if the logistics can be dealt with and if markets can be found that work for the NFL, becoming a more worldwide game would be a tremendous development for the National Football League.

Werman: Mark Lamping, President of the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL franchise. Thanks very much.

Lamping: Thank you.

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