Last week was a great week for the Jaguars and the city of Jacksonville as the organization unveiled some new development plans for the Downtown area. Included in those plans were a football performance facility, which will play a key role in allowing the Jags to build a new stadium, or take the more likely approach and renovate TIAA Bank Field.
The reason for renovations being the more likely scenario for the Jags and Jacksonville is simply because new stadiums are getting expensive to construct, oftentimes exceeding $1 billion. Luckily, the structure and bones of the city-owned stadium are in good shape if a new stadium isn’t in the plans, something Jags president Mark Lamping made known in last week’s presentation.
“We have the ability to renovate the existing stadium,” Lamping said Thursday. “There’s nothing fatal with the structure that would keep us from being able to renovate, as opposed to a new build, and that’s great news.
That is really good news. And the reason it’s good news is because it means you can probably protect the lower bowl as part of any renovation. And the estimates that have been provided that probably saves $500 to $600 million dollars compared to new construction, so significant, in terms of what that brings.”
These statements are certainly encouraging for the taxpayers looking to save money. That said, it sounds like the Jags could have a plan like the Miami Dolphins in mind to upgrade their stadium, especially when looking at the list of “must-haves” like shade for all seats and wider concourses.
Final renovation plan is still several years away but they say these are the “must haves” pic.twitter.com/NorTftpEbG
— Ben Ryan (@BenRyanANJax) June 3, 2021
As many can recall, the Dolphins started renovations in 2015 and completed them in 2017 after three phases. The renovations included new concourse improvements and the construction of Hard Rock Stadium’s signature feature — an open-air canopy that protects the fans from the Florida sun. Once the process was complete on the 29-year-old stadium, the price tag was around the $400-500 million mark. That eventually got them a Super Bowl and was half the cost of a new stadium.
https://youtu.be/FXdtzm9WCcI
However, before we get to the discussion of how renovations would look and the financial side of things, the Jags’ development of Downtown Jacksonville and the construction of their practice facility seem to be on the table first. Once that happens, though, it appears they have a good idea of where they want to go, and their fellow AFC comrades in South Florida may have already shown them a path.