Jacksonville is home to a number of professional sports teams, and the city has a long history of athletics.
Additionally, the PGA Tour is headquartered in the suburb of Ponte Vedra Beach, where it hosts The Players Championship every year.
[1] As the smallest metropolitan area to ever host a Super Bowl, special accommodations were necessary, such as the use of cruise ships as hotels.
The Sharks' financial troubles led the league to fold the team; the franchise was revived the following year as the Jacksonville Express.
The Jacksonville Firebirds played in the American Football Association, a spring minor league, for three seasons, 1979–1981.
The Bulls set many USFL attendance records, including the only two sell-out games; however the league ceased operations after the 1985 season.
Several NFL teams discussed moving to the city over the years, with the Baltimore Colts and the Houston Oilers making the most serious offers.
Ice hockey returned to the city in 2017 when the Jacksonville Icemen of the ECHL were announced for the 2017–18 season.
[8] The Sharks won one AFL championship, defeating the Arizona Rattlers 73–70 in Arena Bowl XXIV.
The Armada used to played their home games at University of North Florida at the Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville.
The PGA Tour is headquartered in the suburb of Ponte Vedra Beach, where it hosts The Players Championship every year.
Additionally, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) has its American headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach.
[15] The Jacksonville Axemen, founded in 2006, are one of the most successful rugby league football teams in the United States, both on and off the field.
[17][18][19] They previously played in the American National Rugby League (AMRNL) from 2006–2010, advancing to the playoffs four times in five years and winning the championship in 2010.
Beginning in 2011, the Axemen oversee a reserve grade competition, the Southeastern Rugby League Championship, contested by three feeder teams, including the Jacksonville Hatchets.
[20] The Axemen play at Hodges Stadium at the University of North Florida, which has also hosted a number of international matches and training camps.
The men's team, Jacksonville Rugby Football Club was founded in 1972 and play FL division 3.
The Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs have played their annual football game, informally known as "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party", in Jacksonville every year since 1933, save a two-year hiatus caused by the razing of the Gator Bowl Stadium and construction of the venue now known as EverBank Stadium.
The latter game was notable because 1963 Heisman Trophy winner and NFL Hall of Famer Roger Staubach played quarterback for Navy.
On September 2, 1989 Florida State played Southern Miss in the regular season opener at the Gator Bowl.
Southern Miss quarterback and future NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre led his team to a 30-26 upset of the heavily favored Seminoles.
In March 2006, Jacksonville was a host site for the first round of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
[30] The Edward Waters Tigers, representing the historically black Edward Waters University, currently compete in the NCAA Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, a conference consisting mostly of historically black institutions.
The original Jacksonville Tars played in the Class B Southeastern League from 1926, following the city's acquisition of Durkee Field.
[36] In 1961 an ownership switchup caused the Braves' major league affiliation to change; they were replaced by the Jacksonville Jets for the season.
The Floridians of the original American Basketball Association played some of their home games in Jacksonville in 1970 and 1971.
[37] Originally called the Miami Floridians, the team became a regional franchise for the 1970–1971 season, playing home games across the state in Jacksonville, South Florida, and the Tampa Bay area.
Poor attendance caused the Floridians to drop Jacksonville and other cities from their schedule;[37] due to their recurring financial issues the league disbanded the team in 1972, prior to the ABA–NBA merger of 1976.
[2] They initially played their home games in the city's arena, but lease increases forced them to find another venue; they went on a self-imposed suspension of operations in 2008 and did not return.
The team was moved from the Boston area, where they were known as the New England Tea Men, and initially played in the North American Soccer League.