The Jaguars and city of Jacksonville have agreed to a $1.4 billion plan to turn EverBank Stadium into a “stadium of the future” with a shaded translucent roof and a lease to keep the franchise in one of the NFL's smallest markets for another 30 years.
The plan was presented at a city council meeting Tuesday, with a vote on the package, including financing and the lease, expected in late June.
The proposal calls for each side to contribute $625 million to the $1.25 billion project. Jacksonville, which won’t levy any new taxes to pay for the rebuild, would chip in another $150 million to get the stadium ready for construction in 2026.
The city wants to finance its portion by moving $600 million from a capital improvement plan and using revenue from an existing, half-penny sales tax to fund the build in a pay-as-you-go campaign. The city says it would save $1.5 billion in debt-services fees over the life of the lease.
To pass, the council requires only a simple majority of the 19 members. The plan would then advance to the NFL owners meeting in October, where 24 of 32 votes would be needed for final approval.
“We wouldn't be proposing it or pushing it if we didn't have a certain level of confidence that this deal would be approved,” Jaguars team president Mark Lamping said.
The team and the mayor will host five “community huddles” to answer public questions and gather feedback on the plan before the city council vote.
“This is a lot of information to digest,” Council President Ron Salem said to his fellow members. “And I’m sure many of you have questions, as I do. I will commit that we will take all the time we need to get this deal right. So please take the time necessary to review the documentation and preparation for the discourse over the next several weeks.”
Comparing to St. Pete situation
The Jaguars have been in the bottom quartile of the league in revenue for decades and have played annually in London since 2013 to help boost their bottom line. The team’s lease runs through 2029, leaving little room for prolonged negotiations and/or do-overs.
It’s a similar situation in St. Petersburg, its city council is mulling over its proposed financial investment in a new $1.3 billion stadium for baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays, which also struggles with attendance.
The city would contribute $287.5 million toward a stadium and $130 million toward infrastructure in addition to any debt service. Financing centers on tax increment financing, a tool to spur economic development in an area with the expectation of increased property tax revenue to cover future debt.
The Rays and Pinellas County would combine to pay $600 million toward the cost of the stadium, which would be part of a $6.5 billion renovation of the city’s Historic Gas Plant District.
The Rays’ current least at Tropicana Field ends in 2027. Another city council workshop on the project is slated for June.
A year in Gainesville or Orlando
In Jacksonville, construction would begin following the 2025 season. The Jaguars would play in front of a reduced capacity in 2026 and host home games in either Gainesville or Orlando the following year. Daytona Beach International Speedway had been under consideration but has since been eliminated.
The proposal includes a 30-year lease as well as agreements that address the franchise’s future in London and a non-relocation clause. Under the new lease, the Jaguars would play all preseason and postseason games in Jacksonville and would continue to play one home game a year in London, likely at Wembley Stadium.
“It is with great pride that we’re an NFL city,” Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said. “It means a lot to this community. It’s a rallying point for Jacksonville. And while nobody wants to spend a lot of money, the truth is this was a binary choice: We could build this stadium or we could lose our team. And that’s not going to happen on my watch. This is something that’s incredibly important to Jacksonville.”
The Jags could play one additional home game every four years overseas, but only if the NFL dictates and only during seasons in which the Jaguars have nine home games; Jacksonville owns global marketing rights in Ireland and the United Kingdom.
“This is light years ahead of the last lease,” Deegan said after the presentation.
The sides expect the revamped stadium to lead to more high-profile events such as U.S. soccer matches and concerts.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan agreed to take on all construction cost overruns, assume day-to-day operations of the stadium and take on the majority of game-day expenses moving forward.
A future “wearing shades”
The 63,000-seat, open-air stadium will include a translucent covering that’s the equivalent of “wearing shades in the sun,” Lamping said. It's expected to lower outside temperatures by 15 degrees.
The stadium plan also includes 140% more concourse space, 190 new points of sale, 16 new escaladers, 12 new elevators and 12 new restrooms.
Capacity could be expanded to 71,500 to accommodate the annual Florida-Georgia college football rivalry, the Gator Bowl, a College Football Playoff game or a Final Four basketball tournament. Pools and a party deck would remain in the north end zone.
The city and the Jaguars still hope to add substantial development to the surrounding area, which is expected to include a University of Florida satellite campus that would bring in 10,000 graduate students. Deegan called the surrounding area critical to the development of the downtown area.
Deegan said it is a whole lot easier “to be negative than it is to be positive, but the team loves Jax.”
“They have gone around the bend to get to an agreement that was so much better for our taxpayers,” Deegan said. “I’m very, very proud of that. As a native of this city and someone who really believes in that and in this team. I think, in the next 30 years, we’re gonna watch this city truly blossom. And I think this stadium is a big piece of that.”
Information from WUSF’s Steve Newborn and WJCT’s Casmira Harrison was used in this report.
