Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan is eyeing a stadium deal on NFL draft day: Buying Wembley.
The English Football Association has received an offer from Khan of about 600 million pounds ($840 million) for the national soccer stadium
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Wembley has staged regular-season NFL games since 2007 and Khan's Florida-based franchise started playing at the 90,000-capacity stadium in 2013, the year Khan bought London soccer club Fulham.
He told The Associated Press he expects to own Wembley within eight to 12 weeks, increasing the prospect of an NFL franchise in London.
"That's possible in the long, long term," Khan said. "Right now, it's about having the certainty we can have three or four games there and then seeing how the market receives it and building on it.
"(Owning Wembley) gives certainty of an NFL presence in London. The first thing you want with certainty is you want a venue. And this gives us a stadium solution for us or anyone else."
The Jaguars have a deal through 2020 to play games in London
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The 60,000-plus capacity stadium was designed with NFL-sized changing rooms and to ensure the grass soccer pitch can be retracted and kept under lights below the stands when the artificial surface is required for NFL.
But Khan envisages after the Tottenham deal expires in a decade that only Wembley could be staging NFL games in London.
Wembley, which first opened in 1923, was rebuilt at a cost of 800 million pounds before reopening in 2007. For most of its existence it has not been owned by the FA.
Selling off Wembley would give the FA up to 500 million pounds to invest in soccer development, which could increase the chances of England winning its first World Cup title since 1966. The governing body would retain the rights to hospitality packages for games, which are valued at 300 million pounds.
"For the FA
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An FA delegation, including England coach Gareth Southgate, attended the Super Bowl in Minneapolis in February.
"I've enjoyed a rewarding relationship with The Football Association for years and my more recent exchanges and time spent with (chief executive) Martin Glenn have served to further strengthen a connection with the FA that made it natural and ultimately possible for both parties to consider this transaction," Khan said.
"Should we be fortunate to close on the purchase, it's important to stress that the spirit and essence of Wembley would be unchanged. Wembley is a special place
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Veteran winger Rick Nash has not committed to playing next season and has told interested teams he won’t be signing July 1.
Agent Joe Resnick told The Associated Press on Thursday that Nash was undecided about his playing future. TSN in Canada first reported Nash’s uncertain status.
Nash missed three weeks late in the season with a concussion. The 34-year-old has also dealt with groin, knee and back injuries during his stellar NHL career.
The 6-foot-4, 211-pound power forward finished the season with the Boston Bruins after they acquired him in February from the New York Rangers. He had six points in 11 regular-season games and five points in 12 playoff games for Boston.
At the NHL draft last weekend, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said Nash indicated he’d be interested in returning and welcomed that discussion. Nash just completed the final season of a $62.4 million, eight-year contract that counted $7.8 million against the salary cap.
Nash would almost certainly take a pay cut on any contract he signs for next season. He was drawing significant interest from around the league during the free agent interview period.
In 1,060 regular-season games with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Rangers and Bruins
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A native of Brampton, Ontario, Nash was the first overall pick of Columbus in 2002 and won Olympic gold medals with Canada in 2010 and 2014.
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