No shade yet: Jaguars announce new sponsor, but no roof at stadium

Fans had gotten hopes up over ‘exciting announcement’ tweet by roofing company

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The good news: the Jaguars play their home opener on Sunday against the Broncos.

The bad news: there’s no shade coming to TIAA Bank Field just yet.

The Jaguars announced RoofClaim.com as an official partner of the team on Thursday afternoon, adding a sponsor to the South End Zone Tailgate Cabana and the spas.

That news was a little bit of a letdown.

Prior to the announcement, there was a good bit of online chatter that the news could involve a long-requested feature: shade for the stadium.

Unfortunately for fans, that wasn’t the case. There’s no reprieve from the scorching Florida heat coming just yet.

A tweet from Roofclaim.com a day earlier teased an “exciting announcement” was on the horizon, but it ultimately wound up as just a sponsorship deal.

“We’re delighted to welcome RoofClaim.com to the Jaguars family of partners,” Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships Scott Massey said in a release. “Protection is a fundamental part of both the game of football and home ownership, and we’re excited for our fans and television audiences to get to know our newest partner.”

VOTE: Would you be more likely to go to a Jaguars’ game if the stadium was covered?

Earlier Thursday morning, 70% of those who responded to our informal poll said they were in favor of a covered stadium.

One of the key reasons the Jaguars want a new performance center is so the team will have somewhere to play during planned renovations, and shade is one of the most requested upgrades from fans, whether that comes as a full roof or a shaded area over TIAA Bank Field.

Just last year, the stadium was named second-worst in the NFL, according to an article in The Athletic — and lack of shade was one of the big reasons.

Roofclaim.com already has some ties to football. The University of Central Florida was considering a naming-rights deal with the company for its stadium.

The company also sponsored a video feature at Hard Rock Stadium where the Miami Dolphins play.