Tag: stadium renovations

Donna Deegan: Hopefully stadium deal framework will begin this month

Donna Deegan says the next meeting between city representatives and the Jaguars will “hopefully start to set a framework” of a stadium deal.

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan says negotiators representing the city and the Jacksonville Jaguars have met just twice regarding a massive renovation of EverBank Stadium, but she’s hopeful their next session will begin the process of drawing up details for a potential agreement.

“The third meeting will happen sometime before Thanksgiving and hopefully start to set a framework for the agreement,” Deegan told Jim Piggott of News4Jax this week. “We’re still months away from this, Jim. Hopefully, after the next meeting we’ll start to get a framework and, hopefully by early spring, we’ll be having a better idea of what we’ve got.”

Earlier this year, the Jaguars laid out their vision for a huge project to reconstruct their home stadium with an expected price tag of about $2 billion. The team also said that it planned to ask the City of Jacksonville to pick up half that bill.

While Deegan has acknowledged that many voters aren’t interested in public money being used to fund the project, she’s also said that Jacksonville doesn’t have much of a choice if the city doesn’t want to lose the Jaguars.

Jaguars president Mark Lamping said in the summer that the team would ideally have a stadium deal in place next spring to present at league meetings. There are meetings scheduled for March 24-27 in Orlando, Fla. and May 20-22 in Nashville, Tenn.

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Donna Deegan on stadium deal: ‘I’d like to get this past us and move on’

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan wants to wrap up stadium renovation negotiations with the Jaguars sooner rather than later.

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan isn’t interested in dragging out a lengthy negotiation with the Jacksonville Jaguars about a massive renovation of EverBank Stadium. She says that the sooner talks are completed, the better.

“I’d like to get this done sooner rather than later,” Deegan told the Florida Times-Union. “I’d like to get this past us and move on to other issues that are important for our city.”

Deegan, who was elected earlier this year and took office in July, has been adamant that she wants to reach a deal with the Jaguars that ties the team to the City of Jacksonville for the foreseeable future. She’s also acknowledged that there’s no solution that doesn’t include significant investment of public money from the city.

The price tag for the entire project proposed by the Jaguars — which includes turning part of the parking lot into an entertainment district — is expected to come out to about $2 billion. The team said in the summer that it planned to ask the City of Jacksonville to pick up half that bill.

A shortened timeline on the negotiations would probably be welcomed by the Jaguars. Team president Mark Lamping said in June that the team would ideally love to have a deal done in the second quarter of 2024 — allowing the team to get official approval at the annual owners’ meeting in May.

The Jaguars are negotiating with Sidley Austin LLP, a law firm hired by Deegan to represent the city in talks. Any deal reached would also need approval from the Jacksonville City Council, which hired former Jaguars executive Michael Huyghue to represent its interests.

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Jaguars want to find stadium plan that forces team out for just 1 year

Jaguars president Mark Lamping says the team is trying to see if there’s a way to play one year elsewhere during renovation instead of two.

Earlier this year, Jacksonville Jaguars president Mark Lamping laid out two potential options for the renovation of EverBank Stadium. The team could either play two years at another venue — like Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville or Hodges Stadium at University of North Florida, perhaps — or four years at home during a lengthier and costlier construction project.

This week, he offered a third, more palatable option.

Lamping told reporters in London that the Jaguars are looking to “see if there’s anything we can do to maybe go from playing away for two years to just one year.”

“We don’t have that solved yet,” Lamping said, via John Oehser of Jaguars.com. “But we’re going to continue to do everything we possibly can to still get the stadium done on time and have it be the least disruptive as possible as far as our games in Jacksonville are concerned.”

The Jaguars have a lot of potential solutions for a temporary home, including even Daytona International Speedway, but there’s far from a perfect one. Gainesville and Daytona Beach are both more than an hour drive from Jacksonville. While Hodges Stadium is nearby, Lamping has said it’d cost “in excess of $100 million” to bring it up to NFL standards.

Playing away from EverBank Stadium for just one year, wherever that ends up being, would be a win for the Jaguars.

The first step, though, is reaching a deal with the City of Jacksonville on a renovation project in the first place. Any agreement with Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan will also need approval from city council and then 75 percent of NFL owners.

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Donna Deegan says public money for stadium is a must to keep Jaguars

“80 percent say they don’t want to spend the money, 80 percent don’t want to lose the Jags. Those two things are simply mutually exclusive.”

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan knows there are plenty of taxpayers who aren’t interested in public money being spent on a massive stadium renovation project for the Jacksonville Jaguars. She also knows there’s not much of a choice if the city doesn’t want to see the team pack up and leave town.

“I think everyone wants to see this work,” Deegan said in an interview with Action News Jax. “I’ve had so many community meetings since I was elected and I hear over and over again: people don’t want to spend public money on the stadium. I know that the fans want it, I know some people don’t see the benefit of it. I see a lot of benefit from it: pride in this team and this city, relationships that we can build business wise.

“But the bottom line is 80 percent say they don’t want to spend the money, 80 percent don’t want to lose the Jags. Those two things are simply mutually exclusive so an agreement must be reached. Hopefully, we come up with one that we all are pretty pleased with.”

The Jaguars aren’t asking for a small amount in negotiations with the city. The price tag for the entire project proposed by the Jaguars — which will include turning part of the parking lot into an entertainment district — is expected to come out to about $2 billion. The team said in the summer that it planned to ask the City of Jacksonville to pick up half that bill.

Jaguars president Mark Lamping said in June that the team would ideally love to have a deal with the City of Jacksonville done in the second quarter of 2024. That would allow the team to get official approval at the annual owners’ meeting in May.

There are many hurdles to cross before the Jaguars get to that point, though. The team is currently negotiating with Sidley Austin LLP, a law firm hired by Deegan to represent the city in talks. Any deal reached would also need approval from the Jacksonville City Council, which hired former Jaguars executive Michael Huyghue to represent its interests.

The Jaguars have played in EverBank Stadium, originally called Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, since the team’s inaugural season in 1995.

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Donna Deegan hires law firm to represent city in Jaguars stadium talks

Donna Deegan picked Sidley Austin LLP to represent the city in stadium renovation negotiations with the Jaguars.

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan is hiring Sidley Austin LLP to represent the city in negotiations with the Jacksonville Jaguars regarding a massive renovation of EverBank Stadium.

“After a comprehensive selection process and in accordance with the mayor’s desire to bring in an experienced, highly reputable outside law firm, we have chosen Sidley Austin LLP to represent the City in upcoming negotiations,” Jacksonville interim chief financial officer Mike Weinstein, the city’s said in a press release, via the Florida Times-Union.

Earlier this summer, the Jaguars revealed their vision for an overhaul of their home stadium, which would include a futuristic looking roof to provide shade while also allowing open air flow. The price tag of the project is expected to land at about $2 billion and Jaguars owner Shad Khan is hoping to split the bill evenly with the City of Jacksonville, which owns the facility.

In July, the Jacksonville City Council hired former Jaguars executive Michael Huyghue to represent their interests in negotiations.

There’s no established timeline for talks or a deadline for a deal to be reached. However, Jaguars president Mark Lamping told 1010XL that spring 2024 would “line up well” and allow the team to get final approval from NFL owners at league meetings in May.

The Jaguars’ lease with the City of Jacksonville to play games at EverBank Stadium runs through the end of the 2029 NFL season.

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Poll: Voters don’t want to split cost for Jaguars stadium upgrades

Renovations of TIAA Bank Field are expected to exceed $600 million and Jacksonville voters don’t want to foot the bill.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are still working through their plans for a renovation of TIAA Bank Field, but voters aren’t interested in picking up the bill.

According to the Jacksonville Business Journal, a poll of likely voters in Duval County from the University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Lab found that 61 percent were opposed to the idea of the public splitting the cost of the project.

In October, the Florida Times-Union reported that the price tag for the renovation is expected to be in the $600 million to $1 billion range. What percentage the Jaguars will ask from the City of Jacksonville remains to be seen.

While voters aren’t excited about the idea of taxpayers shelling out millions for the stadium renovation, their opinion of the Jaguars was overwhelmingly positive.

The poll found that 86 percent approved of quarterback Trevor Lawrence, 84 percent approved of head coach Doug Pederson, and 71 percent approved of owner Shad Khan. The poll also found 84 percent said that it’s important for the city to keep the Jaguars.

The Jaguars’ lease at TIAA Bank Field — which will soon be renamed — is set to expire after the 2029 season.

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Jaguars expect stadium renovation designs, prices ‘within next couple months’

The Jaguars are inching closer to putting together TIAA Bank Field renovation plans.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are inching closer to massive renovation plans for TIAA Bank Field, team president Mark Lamping revealed Saturday.

“We’ve been working through that process,” Lamping told the Florida Times-Union in an interview Saturday. “We’re getting to the point where we think we’ll have some potential designs and potential prices on those designs within the next couple months probably. At that point, we might be in a position to assess whether we have a viable solution or we don’t. We’re confident going forward because our interest and the city’s interest are aligned.”

The Jaguars have played at TIAA Bank Field — originally called Jacksonville Municipal Stadium — since the franchise’s inaugural NFL season in 1995. But the team’s lease at the city-owned stadium expires after the 2029 season, and the Jaguars say a major renovation is needed before they’ll sign any lease extension.

On Saturday, Lamping was unwilling to talk too much about what the Jaguars have in mind, what the project could cost, and how it’ll be paid for. He and Jaguars owner Shad Khan were an agreement on one thing, though: the stadium needs something to protect fans from the sun in a way that’s more expansive than the shades put over the Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium.

“To have a [stadium] solution that doesn’t put shade on all the seats, we’d be failing our fans,” Lamping, via the Times-Union. “As an aside, there’s not shade on all seats at Hard Rock. The visiting side is incredibly hot. That Hard Rock solution wouldn’t work for the Jaguars.”

According to the Times-Union, the renovation is expected to be in the $600 million-$1 billion range.