Jaguars and Jacksonville mayor reach agreement on $1,400,000,000 stadium renovations: report
The Jaguars and the Jacksonville mayor have reportedly reached an agreement on renovating the EverBank Stadium. The total cost is expected to reach $1.4 billion.
The Jacksonville Florida Times-Union reported that City Council chair Ron Salem said:
"The mayor reached out to me late yesterday afternoon to inform me that the executive branch and the Jaguars have reached an agreement on the stadium renovation."
A statement released clarified:
“We have reached an agreement on the framework of a deal. The negotiating team is currently putting the final details on paper, and we will release that information as soon as it is available.”
Salem did not divulge the ratio of the cost-sharing for the mooted amount. Giving a timeframe for June, he added:
"I do not know the specifics of this particular deal but look forward to engaging the council during the month of June as we move forward to review it."
Jaguars would need Jacksonville's decision preferably before October
While the mayor and the city council will now move ahead with their process, some confirmation is ideally needed by summer. Since the NFL owners are meeting in October, having a deal done before that will be ideal.
The Jaguars were formed in 1995 and have always played at the EverBank Stadium. Their current lease goes until 2029. A future 30-year lease deal with the city is reported to be part of the renovations agreement.
The work is expected to take place in 2025 and 2026. The capacity is scheduled to decrease to 62,000 after all the work is done from its present seating of more than 67,000. For college games, it is reportedly expandable up to 71,500.
It is in the interest of the city to also agree to a deal because Jacksonville is the smallest market in the NFL outside Green Bay. But the Packers also capture the Milwaukee market and are the only team in Wisconsin.
Florida has three teams: the Miami Dolphins, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Jaguars. The Dolphins are the legendary team of Don Shula and Dan Marino and the Buccaneers have twice won the Super Bowl, their latest when superstar Tom Brady was playing for them. Therefore, Jacksonville arguably plays in the toughest market in football.
But with a young quarterback in Trevor Lawrence and a positive coach in Doug Pederson, they will be hoping to make some noise in the coming years. And with a new deal in place for the stadium, the Jaguars can look to the future with interest.