Jacksonville may be among the NFL’s smaller markets, but it packs a lot into a small town. With access to the beach, the St. Johns River, the growing downtown area, and the nearby resort area of Amelia Island, Duval has a lot to offer to fans of visiting teams.
However, it seems it hasn’t made a lasting impression on everyone who has visited. According to Boston Globe NFL writer Ben Volin‘s list of the best travel destinations in the league, Jacksonville comes in at just 18th.
Not much to downtown, but the beaches are nice and lots of good golf in the area. The Jaguars also aren’t the toughest ticket.
The second half of Volin’s assessment will hopefully change in the near future, as the team expects success to follow a busy offseason in which the team brought in legendary college coach Urban Meyer and first-overall pick Trevor Lawrence.
As far as the rest of it goes, he’s right that Jacksonville doesn’t boast the most entertaining downtown district, but the area around the stadium has seen a boost in options in recent years. And of course, with the PGA Tour Sawgrass Stadium Course nearby, the golfing scene could be appealing to many.
The city is definitely not the most overtly appealing in the NFL, but it’s hard to argue it’d be more pleasant to travel to Buffalo, New York, which ranks fifth on the list, in late fall than it would be to venture to Florida’s First Coast.