Jaguars, Jacksonville to reveal new stadium renovation deal next week

The Jaguars and Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan have “reached a deal for renovations” of EverBank Stadium, and the mayor’s office will “present the proposed agreement to council” at the next regular meeting on Tuesday, according to a front-page piece by Holthaus & Bauerlein of the FLORIDA TIMES-UNION. Jacksonville City Council President Ron Salem did not comment on “what share the city could carry of the potential” $1.4B renovation. The City Council “will have to approve the deal over the next few months.” The Jaguars “hope to have a deal finalized by early summer in order to take it to the NFL owners meeting in October.” The city “will host a series of public meetings to discuss the deal,” much like the Jaguars' “huddles” last year. The current lease for the Jaguars to use city-owned EverBank Stadium goes through the 2029 season. A “major piece” of the stadium renovation “involves negotiations for a new 30-year lease” (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 5/8).
WE'RE INTERESTED: In Jacksonville, Emma Behrmann noted the community benefit agreement is “something both the Jaguars and the city are interested in.” Such pacts “have been part of many NFL stadium agreements,” but lead negotiator Mike Weinstein said that he “anticipates Jacksonville's being the largest in the NFL” -- setting the stage for the team to “fund economic development outside of the stadium.” While the Jaguars' proposal included plans for an entertainment complex on Lot J outside the stadium, that aspect “will be revisited after the stadium deal is done.” Weinstein said that the stadium “alone is big enough to accomplish first” (JACKSONVILLE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 5/8).

SO CLOSE: In Jacksonville, Gene Frenette wrote a touchdown is “not yet 100 percent guaranteed, but enough progress appears to have been made that both sides feel confident.” It will “become reality for one reason above all:” Jaguars’ owner Shad Khan, Deegan and “all the important players working for each party deem a renovated stadium too critical to Jacksonville’s future for it to die at the 11th hour.” But Frenette noted the terms being presented, “even if the preliminary framework of a deal has been completed, is not the same thing as a deal being done.” Both sides “understood the enormous stakes a long time ago and prepared accordingly.” The Jaguars, especially President Mark Lamping, have “been meticulous” in their resolve to make everybody aware that a renovated stadium is necessary to “keep the team in Jacksonville.” Frenette wrote while some people “take that as a threat,” the truth is “it’s the economic reality of playing in the NFL.” The Jaguars “are the last team in the league to not build a new or renovated stadium or reach an agreement on one” (FLORDIA TIMES-UNION, 5/8). In Jacksonville, Nate Monroe reported the deal, “no matter its innerworkings, is likely to pass given the sheer stakes and the potent professional lobbying force” behind the Jaguars and Khan. Already, there is a “sense of exhilaration about the announcement of a deal and the renewed lease on life the Jaguars will have in Jacksonville as a result” (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 5/8).