Jaguars, city of Jacksonville agree on $1.4 billion ‘Stadium of the Future’

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ “Stadium of the Future” is a go, as the franchise and city came to an agreement on a $1.4 billion project on Tuesday. The proposal will see each side contribute $625 million to the project and Jacksonville would chip in another $150 million to get EverBank Stadium ready for construction beginning in 2026. The team will also not include any new taxes to pay for the rebuild.

Now that the plan was presented to a city council on Tuesday, members are slated to vote on it in June with a majority of 19 members needed to pass. Then, it would advance to the NFL owners meeting in October where they’d need 24 of 32 votes to reach final approval. 

With construction set to begin after the 2025 season, the Jaguars would play in front of a reduced capacity crowd in 2026 and then host home games in either Gainesville or Orlando in 2027. 

The updated look of EverBank Stadium was revealed last summer, representing the next step in the team’s efforts to transform downtown Jacksonville. The Jaguars plan to make the stadium four times as wide as the current one with interactive social areas and food local to the city. The stadium will include state of the art technology and a shade canopy to reduce heat retention by 70%.

As for other opportunities to improve the stadium? In announcing the stadium design last year, the franchise said the following changes will be made:

Shade on all seatsA 360-degree concourse
Wider concoursesIncreased space for football operationsBetter vertical transportationReplace HVAC, plumbing, mechanical, and electrical systems

The Jaguars, rumored for years to be a potential relocation franchise to London, have plans to remain in Jacksonville for the long term. This new stadium would ensure they’d remain in the market for another 30 years. The franchise chose to renovate EverBank Stadium instead of building a new one once the organization concluded it was…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/jaguars-city-of-jacksonville-agree-on-1-4-billion-stadium-of-the-future/

Author : Jeff Kerr

Publish date : 2024-05-15 00:09:00

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