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NFL owners put stadium deal between Jacksonville Jaguars and city over goal line
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- NFL owners put stadium deal between Jacksonville Jaguars and city over goal line
The final play of what's been a years-long drive to keep the Jaguars in Jacksonville came Tuesday afternoon when National Football League owners put their unanimous stamp of approval on the $1.4 billion stadium deal that will keep Jacksonville an NFL city for another 30 years.
The sign-off by the owners during their fall meeting in Atlanta was the last step for the agreement that will obligate city taxpayers to finance $775 million for a canopy-covered, completely overhauled stadium that would open in time for the 2028 season. Jaguars owner Shad Khan will foot the bill for another $625 million and take on responsibility for any cost overruns.
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If City Council's approval of the agreement back on June 25 was a "touchdown" as then council president Ron Salem called it that night, the support by NFL owners added the point after touchdown needed for the winning margin. It didn't have as much suspense as the weeks of public deliberations by City Council, but with at least three-fourths of owners needed to vote for the agreement, their decision wasn't routine, either.
It turned out the tally was 32-0 in favor.
"Today's vote at the league's meeting was a vote for Jacksonville," Khan said. "The NFL believes in Jacksonville. I believe in Jacksonville, and I know our fans and the people throughout the community believe in Jacksonville. So now we're about to make magic happen in Jacksonville."
The massive stadium renovation is far and away the most expensive development deal the city has ever entered into, but it won enthusiastic support from Mayor Donna Deegan, whose administration handled the negotiations, and a large majority of City Council for keeping Jacksonville the home to one of 32 NFL teams.
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Deegan, seated next to Khan in London where the team is playing two games this month, said in a virtual news conference that Khan has said in the past to "never bet against Jacksonville. Never count Jacksonville out."
"And the truth is, this is a can-do city, and I think we showed it again tonight with a 32-to-nothing vote by the NFL," Deegan said. "This is going to be an amazing ride for our city to be able to create the stadium of the future."
Khan's son Tony, who is chief football strategy officer for the team, and Megha Parekh, executive vice president and chief legal officer, represented the Jaguars during the owners meeting at a hotel in Atlanta. The news then went across the ocean to London, capping outreach by the Jaguars that had included one-on-one meetings with owners to go over the terms of the deal.
"I'm gratified, but not surprised," Khan said. "We've been working on it a long time."
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Owners backed biggest community benefits agreement in NFL history
The vote by the owners also endorsed the accompanying $300 million community benefits agreement the city and Khan will split 50-50. When that is factored into the bottom line of the agreements, the city's total cost will be $925 million and Khan's will be $775 million over the 30-year term of the lease.
The community benefits agreement is the biggest in NFL history.
The components of the community benefits agreement will include construction of downtown riverfront parks and maintenance and recreational activities for them; workforce development, affordable housing, workforce housing and homeless programs; neighborhood park improvements citywide; and facilities and programs for youth sports.
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The agreement will direct $115 million of the spending to the Eastside neighborhood, also called Out East, north of the sports complex.
Khan said the revitalization of the Eastside combined with riverfront development for the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences he is building next to the future site of the Museum of Science and History will bring growth to that area and downtown.
"We want that to be the jewel in the Jacksonville crown, frankly, and we're headed that way," he said.
The "stadium of the future" features a a first-of-its-kind mirrored material, an energy-efficient facade reflecting Jacksonville’s waterfront.
Jaguars will go back to NFL owners next year on alternate game sites
Construction at EverBank Stadium could start in early 2025 and the Jaguars want it completed in time for the team to kick off its 2028 season in the rebuilt venue.
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During construction, the Jaguars will still play in the stadium during the 2026 season with reduced seating capacity for about 43,500 fans. Then the Jaguars will play all home games outside Jacksonville for the entire 2027 season. The team has not determined where those games will be played. Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at the University of Florida in Gainesville and London are all possible options.
Jaguars President Mark Lamping said the team has been doing surveys of fans, team sponsors, employees and the football side of the Jaguar's operation about their preferences.
"We have a lot of work to do on that decision," Lamping said. "I anticipate it's going to take at least through the end of this regular season to have a really good handle on it."
The Jaguars then would go back to NFL owners for them to vote on the team's decision for where to play in 2027.
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Revamped stadium will add shade canopy
When construction on the city-owned stadium is finished, the roof canopy will bring long-sought shade from the scorching sun that beats down on fans during early-season games. The revamped stadium will have about 63,000 seats and additional built-in seating will allow expansion to 71,500 seats for the Florida-Georgia game that's been an annual tradition in Jacksonville.
The TaxSlayer Gator Bowl also will be in the stadium and city leaders have said they want to pursue other big events such as concerts, international sports and even college football playoff games. Khan said he expects the stadium will host world-class events and "contribute to the city from prestige but more importantly from revenue and really help the community grow."
The annual game between the University of Georgia and University of Florida will be played elsewhere in 2026 and 2027. Lamping said the renovated stadium will help the city resume that college tradition in Jacksonville starting in 2028.
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"I think this development puts us in a position to be much stronger in our confidence that those universities will choose to stay in Jacksonville because economically, it is significantly better for them under the new stadium than the old stadium," Lamping said.
Besides the roof cover, the rebuilt stadium will use a first-of-its kind reflective covering wrapped around the outside of the stadium. Inside the stadium, fans will find wider concourses for moving around, more escalators and elevators, scenic lookout decks and an array of lighting and digital technology for electronic messages. The stadium will have a nature park with a subtropical Florida collection of plants for fans to walk through on the way into the stadium.
The stadium is the latest in a string of agreements between the city and the Jaguars since Khan bought the team and hired Lamping in February 2012 as president of the organization.
The city and the Jaguars teamed up on a $90 million agreement split 50-50 for construction of a new city-owned building next to the stadium that opened in 2017 for the Daily's Place amphitheater and flex field.
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That was followed by another 50-50 split between the Jaguars and the city in a $120 million agreement for the Miller Electric Center that contains practice fields, offices and training rooms. The complex opened in 2023.
Jaguars lease would have ended after 2029 season without agreement
The vote by the owners Tuesday was the biggest by the NFL for Jacksonville since it landed an expansion franchise that resulted in the Jaguars playing their first game at the current stadium in 1995.
Khan had said over the weekend he was optimistic about the likelihood of winning approval. The Jaguars and the city had tailored their negotiations along the lines of agreements that previously won support from the NFL for other teams, particularly the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills .
The remaining city council members who voted on the first Jaguars stadium deal to renovate the old Gator Bowl 31-years ago wore matching t-shirts with the old stadium and the new stadium design on the front during Tuesday's council meeting. By a vote of 14 to 1 with two members abstaining and two absent, Jacksonville's City Council voted to approve the city's stadium renovation deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars at the end of the City Council meeting Tuesday evening, June 25, 2024. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union]
Unlike teams in bigger markets where owners raking in more local revenue have paid the full cost of a stadium, the deal in Jacksonville is like the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills with a mix of owner and taxpayer financing. But the new stadiums for the Titans and Bills will draw on several hundred millions apiece from state government. The state of Florida doesn't subsidize stadiums for pro teams so the city will shoulder the taxpayer expense on its own.
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The stadium improvements went hand-in-hand with extending the current lease that would have expired after the 2029 football season without a deal.
City Council members learned in 2020 the team and city had started a years-long study called "Project Lifetime" on the future of the stadium. In June 2023, the Jaguars unveiled the team's proposed design for a massive renovation of the stadium. Deegan and her administration then opened negotiations that produced a deal which City Council approved 14-1 in June with few changes.
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Except for deciding where to play home games in 2027, the attention will turn next to the construction phase.
"It's the end of one process, but the start of the other process," Khan said.
The city and the Jaguars decided early in their negotiations to break apart negotiations on the stadium from talks on creating an entertainment district in the sports complex. Lamping said downtown needs an entertainment district and the sports complex could be the best place for it.
"But these things need to happen in the right time," he said, noting Khan's organization is working to complete the Four Seasons project and do the stadium work. "I can tell you at least from my perspective, our plate is pretty full right now and we have to do these projects right."
( This story was updated to add new information. )
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: NFL owners back stadium deal by Jaguars and Jacksonville
