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Michael DiRocco, ESPN staff writer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville City Council voted 14-1 on Tuesday night to approve a deal between the Jaguars and the city for a $1.4 billion renovation of EverBank Stadium.
That brings the Jaguars one step closer to ensuring the long-term stability of the franchise, with the final hurdle remaining for the deal to be approved by 24 of the NFL's 32 owners at the league's meeting in Atlanta in October.
If that happens, construction would begin after the team's 2025 season concludes and be completed by the 2028 season.
“This is a historic day for our city,” Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said. “As I told the council, we can do this when we all row together and focus on one goal.
“Monumental. I think it's generational progress.”
The Jaguars and the city have agreed to contribute $625 million toward the renovation, but the city has also agreed to pay $150 million over the next two seasons on maintenance and repairs to get the stadium ready for construction. That means the city will shoulder 55% of the total cost.
Additionally, the agreement holds Jaguars owner Shad Khan responsible for 80.4% of the increased renovation costs, as well as game-day expenses.
In addition to the renewal, the deal between the city and the Jaguars also includes a 30-year lease that will begin once the stadium reopens and a non-relocation agreement, putting an end to relocation rumors that have plagued the small-market franchise for the past 15 years. It also contains a clause that limits the Jaguars to one home game annually in London unless mandated by the NFL to participate in one additional international game every four seasons — and that's only during seasons in which the team has nine home games (every odd year).
The Jaguars have played a home game in London every year since 2013 (except for 2020 due to the pandemic). They played consecutive games in London last season, but played just one game as the home team. They are scheduled to do so again in 2024.
Jaguars president Mark Lamping said the team began the process of building a new or renovated stadium back in 2016, and Tuesday night’s vote was the culmination of eight years of work.
“We started working on this so early because we studied cities that had issues with their teams,” Lamping said. “Unfortunately there are cities that have lost their NFL teams and they all usually have one thing in common. It's a small market. The team doesn't have a lease with the city and they have an unresolved stadium issue. And Shedd's commitment from the beginning was that we would do everything possible to make sure that doesn't happen to Jacksonville.”
“We've spent a tremendous amount of time and resources, especially over the last four years, and we're thrilled that we were able to accomplish this goal. It was a goal that Shedd had and that the community shared, to keep jaguars in Northeast Florida for generations to come. We've made that goal a reality thanks to the mayor and his team.”
The renovated stadium will resemble SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, with a shade canopy over every seat that will reduce temperatures by up to 15 degrees. Capacity will be 63,000 for Jaguars games, but the number of seats can be expanded to over 70,000 to attract the annual Florida-Georgia game as well as other potential sporting events and concerts.
The plan is for the Jaguars to continue playing at a reduced-capacity EverBank Stadium in 2026 and then play the 2027 season elsewhere. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville and Camping World Stadium in Orlando are two options after the Jaguars eliminated the possibility of playing at Daytona International Speedway due to a lack of infrastructure.