It seems like every year the NFL is in the headlines for building a new state-of-the-art stadium, and as a result, the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium, TIAA Bank Field, is actually one of the league’s older venues (in a good way).Thankfully, since becoming the Jags’ owner, Shad Khan has made it a priority to keep the facility up to date, and has expressed his interest for a major renovation within the next five years.
All that said, for whatever reason, Sporting News seems to think TIAA Bank Field doesn’t stack up particularly well against the rest of the league’s venues, and ranked it 25th of 31. And though they didn’t really give an explanation, here’s what Vinnie Iyer had to say about the home of the Jags.
25. TIAA BankField
Open since: 1995
Capacity: 69,132The former Alltel Stadium still packs them in, from the NFL in Jacksonville to the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party,” aka the annual Florida-Georgia game. There have been some recent improvements in an attempt to match some of the stadium’s more modern brethren.
So let me get this right, the stadium with some of the world’s largest scoreboards, pools, an amphitheater and the first-ever in stadium dog park is only good enough to rank 25th in the league?
Despite its age, the only issue most would say they have with TIAA Bank Field is the sweltering heat in the summer and fall. However, it’s something Khan has said he’s looking to address in some fashion along with his plans for major renovations with the city. Maybe that will include a drone to block the sun out, or maybe that may come in the form of an expensive canopy similarly to Hard Rock Stadium if he and the city could come to a deal. If that happens, maybe TIAA Bank Field could climb the ranks as one of the NFL’s top venues.
