Image Credit: Jo.sau - Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Shad Khan, owner of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, has put down a $1.2B bid to purchase London’s Wembley Stadium, home of the Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur F.C. The news sent shockwaves around North Florida and caused Jacksonville Jaguar fans to speculate that Khan will eventually move the team to London, England. Hey! Roger Goodell and the National Football League have went on record to say that they would like to see the NFL establish a presence in London. However, Khan insists that he wants redevelop Wembley Stadium into one of the premier stadiums in the world in order to host major events like the Super Bowl and World Cup Final.

The NFL already plays annual regular season games at London’s Wembley Stadium. The Jacksonville Jaguars will play the Philadelphia Eagles at Wembley Stadium in 2019. Wembley Stadium is owned by the Football Association of England and just to be clear, “football” means “soccer” overseas. Many Jaguars fans are pointing to the fact that Khan has spent hundreds of millions of dollars redeveloping Everbank Field and the surrounding neighborhood as evidence that he won’t move the team to London. And that is a valid point. However, Wembley Stadium wasn’t for sale at the time those redevelopment plans were put into action.

The Glazer family, owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, have also been rumored to be the team that eventually relocates to London. The Glazers are already part owners of the Premier League’s Manchester United. The Buccaneers have also played their share of games at Wembley Stadium and like the Jacksonville Jaguars, are a small market team that have struggled with attendance in years past. However, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have also invested millions of dollars into revamping Raymond James Stadium with the hope of securing another Super Bowl.

NFL players have been very vocal about their disapproval of playing in London. The travel schedule would be brutal for players and staff due to the time zone difference between England and the United States. Players also object to the idea of being too far away from their families during the season. One thing is for certain, Shad Khan would not be interested in purchasing Wembley Stadium if he didn’t already have big plans in mind.

 

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