JACKSONVILLE, Florida — The Jacksonville City Council voted 14-1 Tuesday night to approve an agreement between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the city on a $1.4 billion renovation of EverBank Stadium.
It brings the Jaguars one step closer to securing the long-term stability of the franchise, with the final hurdle being approval of the deal by 24 of the NFL’s 32 owners at the league meetings in Atlanta in October.
If that happens, construction is scheduled to begin after the team’s 2025 season ends and finish in time for the 2028 season.
“This is a historic day for our city,” said Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan. “As I said to the council, this is what we can do when we all line up together and we focus together on one goal.
“Monumental. I think it’s generational progress.”
Both the Jaguars and the city have agreed to contribute $625 million toward the renovation, but the city has also agreed to pay $150 million over the next two seasons on maintenance and repairs to prepare the stadium for construction . This means the city will be responsible for 55% of the total cost.
Additionally, the agreement holds Jaguars owner Shad Khan responsible for more than the cost of the renovations, as well as 80.4% of game-day expenses.
In addition to the renovations, the agreement between the city and the Jaguars also includes a 30-year lease that will begin after the stadium reopens and a non-transfer agreement, which will quell rumors of a transfer that surrounded the short. -Market Franchise since last 15 years. There is also a clause that limits the Jaguars to one home game annually in London unless mandated by the NFL to participate in an additional international game once every four seasons – and that’s only during those seasons. During which the team plays nine home games (each in odd years).
The Jaguars have played a home game in London every year since 2013 (except 2020 due to the pandemic). They played consecutive games in London last season, but only one as the home team. They are going to do it again in 2024.
Jaguars president Mark Lamping said the team began working toward a new or renovated stadium in 2016 and that Tuesday night’s vote was the culmination of eight years of work.
“The reason we started it so quickly was because we studied cities that were having problems with their teams,” Lamping said. “Unfortunately there are cities that have lost their NFL teams and they all usually have one thing in common. It’s a small market. The team has no lease attached to the city and they have an unresolved There’s a stadium problem. And Schad’s commitment from the beginning was to make sure that didn’t happen in Jacksonville.
“We’ve been spending a tremendous amount of time and resources, especially over the last four years, and we’re thrilled that we were able to accomplish that goal. It was a goal that Shad had and the community supported us to keep the jaguars here.” This evening we have turned that goal into reality thanks to the mayor and his team.”
The renovated stadium will be similar to Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, with each seat having a shade canopy that will reduce temperatures by 15 degrees. Capacity for Jaguars games will be 63,000, but seating can be increased to more than 70,000 to accommodate the annual Florida-Georgia game as well as attract other potential sporting events and concerts.
The Jaguars plan to continue playing at a reduced capacity at EverBank Stadium in 2026 and then play the 2027 season elsewhere. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville and Camping World Stadium in Orlando are the two options after the Jaguars eliminated the possibility of playing at Daytona International Speedway due to lack of infrastructure.
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