Former CEO of MetLife Stadium Mark Lamping Becomes President of Jacksonville Jaguars

Mark Lamping, the President and CEO of MetLife Stadium and home to the New York Giants and New York Jets, was named today as President of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League, with his tenure beginning Monday, Feb. 27.

The appointment of Lamping was announced Monday morning by new Jaguars owner Shahid Khan. Lamping will be responsible for all non-football facets of the operation, reporting to Khan. Jaguars general manager Gene Smith will continue to report directly to Khan.

“This is a very important and exciting development in the Rebirth of the Jacksonville Jaguars,” Khan said. “Mark will bring to the Jaguars and to the Jacksonville community a mix of sports and brand marketing, stadium management expertise and team front office leadership that is very difficult to find in one person.  Mark’s resume speaks for itself and I am very grateful to the Giants and Jets for making it possible for the Jaguars to present Mark with a new challenge and the prospect of success here in Jacksonville.”

“The Jacksonville Jaguars have vast potential, and I’m honored that Shad Khan is asking me to play a leadership role in reaching that potential,” Lamping said.  “We have the opportunity to revitalize the franchise and build something special, memorable and hopefully historic for the league, our partners and especially Jaguars fans, who will be central to our mission.  My wife Cheryl and I are ready to get started and excited to make Jacksonville our home.”

A native of St. Louis, Lamping served Anheuser-Busch in a variety of capacities from 1981 to 1993, including brand management and eventually as the global company’s group director of sports marketing.  While at Anheuser-Busch, Lamping managed the company’s television and radio sports production division and all domestic and international sports marketing activities for Anheuser-Busch’s beer brands, including sponsorship agreements for the Olympics, FIFA World Cup and all North American major professional sports.

In 1994, Lamping was named president of his hometown St. Louis Cardinals.  Lamping was responsible for business and facility operations among many other duties on behalf of the baseball club, and played a significant role in the renovation of the old Busch Stadium and subsequent revitalization of the Cardinals franchise in the mid 1990s.  Lamping later led the development and funding of the new Busch Stadium, which opened in April 2006.  The Cardinals won five division titles, two National League pennants and the World Series championship in 2006 while Lamping was president, drawing more than 3 million fans for nine consecutive seasons.

In 2008, Lamping accepted the position of President and CEO of the New Meadowlands Stadium, which is now MetLife Stadium, the 50-50 venture between the Giants and Jets.  Lamping reported to a board of directors that included the owners of the Giants and Jets and was responsible for overseeing all facets of the stadium development, construction and operation, including business operations, sponsorship sales, marketing, event business, new media and more.  Lamping was a major force in helping to bring Super Bowl XLVIII to MetLife Stadium in 2014.

Lamping holds a bachelor’s of science degree in accounting from Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Mo., and master’s degree in business administration from Saint Louis University.  He and his wife have three children.

by Ismail Uddin