The Jacksonville City Council approves the Jaguars stadium deal with minimal changes

Just over a year after the Jaguars announced their proposal for a renovated EverBank Stadium, eight months of negotiations with the mayor and three weeks of marathon City Council meetings, the city has agreed to a 30-year lease and financing agreement with the team.

In a 14-1 vote Tuesday, the City Council approved the largest development spending deal in the city’s history, $775 million for stadium renovations and $56 million in an amended community benefits agreement. Councilman Mike Gay voted against the deal, saying there was “a lot wrong with it” and that the council needed more time to “dig into it.” Councilmen Kevin Carrico and Terrance Freeman abstained from the vote, citing potential conflicts of interest with their jobs outside of the council, while Councilmen Rory Diamond and Ju’Coby Pittman were not present for the vote.

“I’ve had a number of calls over the last few days, and the sports industry is the envy of us today,” Ron Salem, outgoing council chairman, said before the vote. “…We all worked together to make the process successful.”

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Football fans and Jacksonville residents have been waiting for years for the deal to play out, as it has significant implications for the future of the Jaguars franchise and the city’s financial health.

Now the deal heads to the NFL owners meeting in October, where it must receive the support of at least 75% of team owners.

When the Jaguars first announced their renovation plan last June, an internal memorandum showed a starting negotiation point where the city would foot 67% of the stadium renovation bill. The proceeds would take place in a surrounding “sports entertainment district” in which Shad Khan, the owner of the Jaguars, would pay 86% of the costs.

Instead, the city focused solely on the renovation plans and said the entertainment district would be discussed at a later date.

The next four years will bring big changes for some NFL fans: the renovated Buffalo Bills stadium will open in 2026, the Tennessee Titans stadium in 2027 and the Jaguars stadium in 2028. Most of the construction of Jacksonville will take place in 2027. , in which the team will play home games, likely in Gainesville or Orlando.

The accepted deal makes the city responsible for 55% of the stadium costs, including maintenance funding prior to the start of construction, but not the cost of exterior work.

Most of the deal that Mayor Donna Deegan’s team negotiated emerged unscathed by the City Council’s criticism. But the popular community benefits agreement was not as successful, and council discussion about how to finance the area around the stadium is still ongoing and will continue during the next budget process.

Still, the Jaguars’ investment is the largest in NFL history for a community benefits agreement.

The Jaguars initially offered $100 million over the 30-year lease term and increased their support to $150 million after the city proposed splitting its own match over two years. Deegan called the investment transformative during town hall meetings to educate the public about the deal last month, but City Council members criticized the allocation before digging into her 2025-2026 budget.

“We have a budget of $1.67 billion every year, and we spend four months on that,” City Council President Ron Salem said during a committee meeting. “We are being asked to appropriate $300 million with two or three hours of debate. I think it’s wrong.”

The City Council decided to split the city’s share of the funding: $56 million is included in the stadium legislation and will go toward renovating Riverfront Plaza, Metropolitan Park, Shipyards West Park and the Flex Field.

But the remaining $96 million, originally intended to address homelessness, affordable housing and the Eastside neighborhood, will be further discussed during the budget process that begins in August.

In May, a University of North Florida poll found the community benefits agreement was the most popular part of the deal.

Members of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee opposed the exclusion, saying the council was deliberately excluding communities that may not even be able to afford a ticket to the new stadium.

For every $3 the city spends on the priorities in the budget, the Jaguars will match an additional $1, up to the originally agreed-upon contribution of $150 million.

This article originally appeared in the Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville City Council approves deal for Jaguars, Khan and Deegan