The Jaguars’ existing stadium contract with the city expires at the end of the 2029 NFL season, unless it is extended, as many of you may already be aware. The three-year-old project known as the “Stadium of the Future” in Jacksonville was unveiled to the public by the Jacksonville Jaguars nine months ago.
Since then, the finer points of a tentative agreement have been hammered out through secret negotiations between the Jaguars and Sidley Austin LLP, the negotiating party representing the city of Jacksonville. This is our present position.
The first estimates for building a new stadium were in the neighborhood of $2.1 billion. The team and the city decided that renovating the stadium from top to bottom at an estimated cost of $1.2 to $1.4 billion would be a better course of action than constructing a brand-new stadium. The specifics are now being worked out and agreed.
The team has considered a number of alternatives for where the team could play in 2026 and 2027, as Simon Carroll of Big Cat Country has reported. This offers a number of in-city choices, such as London, Gainesville, Tallahassee, or even Daytona or Orlando. The team and the city still need to come to a tentative agreement on this unresolved matter. EverBank Stadium will host the team’s 2024 and 2025 home games.
On Tuesday, March 12th, Mike Weinstein, the city’s chief negotiator, updated the city council on the status of a tentative agreement that was anticipated to be reached in early May. A preliminary agreement agreed by the team and the negotiating group will be brought before the City Council for approval.
After that, the City Council will examine the contract and make any necessary changes. Nevertheless, the Council contract review procedure has no set timeline. However, the group has requested that any contract modifications from the Council be finished, if at all feasible, within 60 days.
