On the same day the Jacksonville Jaguars defeated the Kansas City Chiefs with a thrilling, last-minute touchdown before 25 million people watching on ESPN's "Monday Night Football," the city's Building Inspections Division began its review of the latest — and largest — building permit application related to the team's "Stadium of the Future" plans to renovate EverBank Stadium.
The construction work outlined in the permit application has an estimated job cost of $696,535,632, representing about half of the project's estimated $1.4 billion price tag.
The building permit's review status was first reported by the Jacksonville Daily Record.
First revealed in June 2023 , the renovation plans call for a number of upgrades to the now-30-year-old stadium where the Jaguars played their first-ever regular-season home game on Sept. 3, 1995. Among the upgrades Jaguars fans can look forward to are a protective, transparent canopy covering; wider concourses; more communal spaces; more seating options; and new technology to enhance the game-day experience.
The work, which began earlier this year, is expected to be completed in time for the 2028 NFL season.
Earlier this month, the Jaguars unveiled the first milestone in the construction of the "Stadium of the Future" project: Grand Staircase One.
The new staircase, one of four planned for the stadium's corners, is located in the southwest corner of the facility. When finished, each of the grand staircases will be flanked by escalators, the Jaguars said.
Construction continues on other, less-visible phases of the renovation, including subsurface work and the roof canopy.
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According to the building permit under review, this phase of work includes the following:
New field-level club spaces
Additional new private suites
New mechanical, electrical, lighting and fire alarm systems
New low-voltage systems, including converged building network, Wi-Fi and DAS (distributed antenna system)
Renovated restrooms and concessions throughout the stadium
Renovated miscellaneous back-of-house and front-of-house spaces throughout the venue
The building permit under review offers details about the size and scope of the project.
Stories: 8
Building height: 239 feet
Enclosed space, floors 1 to 4: 652,734 square feet
Enclosed space, above floor 4: 153,079 square feet
One story, undivided: 252,126 square feet
Unenclosed space: 560,518 square feet
Land area: 1,524,600 square feet
With the permit under review, don't expect to see a flurry of construction activity inside the stadium anytime soon.
"They won't be doing any of the interior construction yet," Chad Johnson, chief operating officer for the Jaguars, said on Oct. 9. "That will all start to happen immediately when the season ends. In February of 2026, our staff will all leave the stadium and move across the street into the office tower" under construction at the Shipyards project, where Khan's Four Seasons Hotel and Residences is also taking shape. "... That then opens up all of the spaces in the stadium for them to start doing interior work," he said.
For the 2026 NFL season, the team's locker rooms and weight rooms will stay as is, but the stadium's meeting spaces and Jaguars offices will be vacated and transformed into club lounges and other hospitality spaces that will be part of the "sellable assets" of the new stadium, Johnson said. In 2027, when the team is expected to play at another Florida stadium, work will begin in those locker room and weight room spaces.
The new stadium will have a capacity of 63,000 for Jaguars games and an expansion to 71,500 seats for the annual Florida-Georgia football game. The current capacity at EverBank Stadium is 67,838.
Yes. The renovated Jaguars stadium would have a roof fixture that will protect fans from the two harshest elements in Florida weather: the glaring sun and the pouring rain.
The protective, transparent canopy "will reduce radiant heat within the seating bowl and concourses by 10-15 degrees over direct sunlight," according to a summary on the Jaguars' website. The protective covering would also allow the stadium to host events, including concerts and other sporting events, year-round, regardless of weather conditions.
Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins , has a covering to protect fans from the sun, but the playing field is uncovered. Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , is completely open to the elements.
No, but it shouldn't have to be. The exterior of the stadium would be wrapped by a "first-of-its-kind" reflective material that will provide an energy-efficient façade, the Jaguars said in 2023. The reconstruction would also open up the four corners of the building to create breezeways that would circulate air throughout the stadium.
Peter Broeder, design principal for architectural firm HOK, said the project will remove a large amount of the seating bowl "in a surgical fashion" for those four breezeways. The team said the material used in constructing the building would cut heat retention by 70% and lower temperatures by as much as 15 degrees.
In addition to the protective canopy, the renovation plans to EverBank Stadium call for the following, as described by the Jaguars:
Wider concourses:Roam 360-degree concourses, four times wider than existing spaces, providing for convenient and safer movement of sports, entertainment and special events patrons
New communal spaces:Enjoy first-class interactive social bars, local food options and retail venues in communal spaces for all fans
Scenic lookout decks:Soak in the city sights with lookout decks offering skyline and river views
New seating types:Choose from increased seating options, including premium offerings from field to sky
Special event capacity:Cheer on professional and college sports, concerts and special events among a flexible seating capacity from 63,000+ to expand up to 70,000
Immersive in-bowl tech:Immerse into a transformative environment creating distinctive event experiences through lighting and digital technology
Nature park:Walk through a public subtropical Floridian nature park available for visitors and residents year-round to the elevated midlevel of the stadium on event days
Jaguars owner Shad Khan is slated to pay $625 million of the stadium's $1.4 billion price tag. Jacksonville taxpayers are on tap to pay $775 million for the renovations . Khan would foot the bill for any cost overruns.
In addition to the stadium renovations, the package also includes a $300 million community benefits agreement . The city and Khan will split the costs of the community improvements 50/50, leaving taxpayers with a total bill of $925 million and Khan with $775 million.
The Jaguars plan to continue playing at EverBank Stadium in 2026, with a limited capacity of about 43,500 in 2026.
That's yet to be determined. In the final scheduled year of stadium construction, the Jaguars will play all their games outside of Jacksonville.
Jaguars President Mark Lamping said the team has been doing surveys of fans, team sponsors, employees and the football side of the Jaguars' operation about their preferences. Possibilities include Camping World Stadium in Orlando and Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, home of the Florida Gators . They could also play more games in London.
NFL owners would have to approve the team's alternate home plans.
The Jaguars host the only pools at an NFL stadium , which were installed as part of a 2014 renovation at EverBank Stadium. And yes, they are going to be part of the new renovation plans.
Contributing: David Bauerlein, Demetrius Harvey and Tom Szaroleta, Florida Times-Union
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: New EverBank Stadium details revealed in $696M building permit in review
