Current:Home > Contact-usNFL owners approve Jacksonville’s $1.4 billion ‘stadium of the future’ set to open in 2028-LoTradeCoin
NFL owners approve Jacksonville’s $1.4 billion ‘stadium of the future’ set to open in 2028
View Date:2024-12-23 18:47:14
NFL owners unanimously approved Jacksonville’s $1.4 billion “stadium of the future” Tuesday, a decision that should keep the Jaguars in one of the league’s smallest markets for at least another 30 years.
With the Jags (1-5) getting ready to play the second of back-to-back games in London, NFL owners essentially ended decades of speculation about the franchise being a potential relocation candidate.
“Actions speak louder than words,” owner Shad Khan said. “And I think we’re going to have some real action.”
Twenty-four of 32 owners were needed to approve the project at the league’s fall meetings in Atlanta. It was considered such a rubber-stamp situation that Khan and team president Mark Lamping were allowed to skip the meetings and avoid 12 hours of travel from London to Atlanta and back.
The Jaguars didn’t anticipate much pushback even though the 55-45% financial split — with the city on the hook for the majority of the deal — is higher than most NFL owners contribute to new or renovated stadiums.
“I’m gratified but not surprised,” Khan said. “We’ve been working on it for a long time. We’ve talked to all the owners one-on-one. Obviously, (commissioner) Roger (Goodell) has been highly supportive, a big part of it. I think it’s great to get to this point.”
Each side will pay $625 million toward the $1.25 billion project. Jacksonville, which won’t levy any new taxes to fund its part, will chip in another $150 million in deferred maintenance to get EverBank Stadium ready for construction.
Pre-construction work is scheduled to start in February. The Jaguars expect to play in front of a slightly reduced capacity in 2025, a significantly reduced capacity (no upper deck) in 2026 and then host home games in Gainesville or Orlando the following year. They also could play multiple home games overseas, in London and possibly Ireland.
The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season!
Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here.
The renovation agreement with the city allows the Jaguars to play up to six home games internationally between 2025 and 2027, with a maximum of three during the first two years and up to three more in 2027.
The project also will affect the annual Florida-Georgia game and the Gator Bowl; Florida and Georgia have bid their rivalry out for consecutive years, with expected destinations being Atlanta in 2026 and Miami, Orlando or Tampa in 2027. The Gator Bowl is planning to play in Jacksonville in 2026 and potentially Gainesville in 2027.
The stadium plan includes a 30-year lease, a non-relocation agreement and a provision that limits the number of games the Jaguars can play outside Jacksonville. Under the new lease, the Jaguars would play all preseason and postseason home games in Jacksonville and would continue to play one home game a year in London, likely at Wembley Stadium.
The Jaguars agreed to take on all construction cost overruns, assume day-to-day operations of the stadium and bear 80.4% of game day expenses moving forward.
The proposed 63,000-seat, open-air stadium includes a translucent covering that’s the equivalent of “wearing shades in the sun,” Lamping has said. It’s expected to lower outside temperatures by 15 degrees.
Capacity could expand to 71,500 to accommodate Florida-Georgia, a College Football Playoff game or the Final Four. Pools and a party deck will remain in the north end zone.
The stadium will be the centerpiece of a downtown entertainment district in Jacksonville. A Four Seasons hotel and residences project is currently under construction as well as a new office building for the Jaguars, a shipyards project that will include a modern marina and eventually a University of Florida satellite campus that would bring in 10,000 graduate students to the area.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
veryGood! (3)
Related
- Kid Rock tells fellow Trump supporters 'most of our left-leaning friends are good people'
- Step up? Done. Women dominate all aspects of the Grammys this year
- Our 2024 Grammys Recap
- House plans vote on standalone Israel aid bill next week, Speaker Johnson says
- Secret Service Agent Allegedly Took Ex to Barack Obama’s Beach House
- Over 100,000 Bissell vacuums recalled over potential fire hazard from a hot battery
- Paris Jackson covers up over 80 tattoos at the Grammys: 'In love with my alter ego'
- Shannen Doherty Responds After Alyssa Milano Denies Getting Her Fired From Charmed
- Brian Austin Green Shares Message to Sharna Burgess Amid Ex Megan Fox's Baby News
- Which NFL team has won the most Super Bowls? 49ers have chance to tie record
Ranking
- Dallas Long, who won 2 Olympic medals while dominating the shot put in the 1960s, has died at 84
- Kingsley Ben-Adir takes on Bob Marley in the musical biopic One Love
- Victoria Monét Wins Best New Artist at 2024 Grammys
- Céline Dion's Rare Outing With Son René-Charles at 2024 Grammys Put the Power of Love on Display
- Why the US celebrates Veterans Day and how the holiday has changed over time
- Beyoncé shies away from limelight, Taylor Swift fangirls: What you didn’t see on TV at the Grammys
- Taylor Swift Squashes Celine Dion Grammys Snub Rumors With Backstage Picture
- Are you wearing the wrong bra size? Here’s how to check.
Recommendation
-
The Daily Money: Inflation is still a thing
-
Why problems at a key Boeing supplier may help explain the company's 737 Max 9 mess
-
Taylor Swift Announces New 11th Album The Tortured Poets Department at 2024 Grammys
-
What is Super Bowl LVIII? How to read Roman numerals and why the NFL uses them
-
Deion Sanders doubles down on vow to 99-year-old Colorado superfan
-
Taylor Swift Makes History at 2024 Grammys With Album of the Year Win
-
Jay-Z Calls Out Grammy Awards for Snubbing Beyoncé
-
Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf defeat John McEnroe, Maria Sharapova in Pickleball Slam 2