Can only speak for myself, but assuming there's nothing goofy in the small print, I think the agreement between the Jags and the City of Jacksonville is an incredibly fair partnership by NFL standards. I'd take it one step further and say that both sides seems to be negotiating in genuinely good faith. The Jags CLEARLY benefit from being in Jacksonville, and it's in their best interest to stay here, but to their credit, they got way out ahead of this thing, have bent a lot, and have never once during this process bashed the city or threatened to relocate.
In general, here are seven reasons I like the deal, and admire the collaborative partnership this process this appears to have been between Mark Lamping, Donna Deegan, Mike Weinstein, etc., versus the insane Lot J dumpster fire with Curry threatening to fight City Council members in their backyard if they didn't back the Jags, Mark Lamping and Paul Harden red-faced and screaming, the Cordish goons evading city council, etc.:
1. Shad Khan/The Jags are picking up half the tab ($650 million) to modernize Jacksonville's city-owned stadium. Though the Jags are the primary tenant, the desire and need for a large football stadium in Jacksonville has existed since Fairfield Stadium was constructed in 1928. Our modern stadium has elements that date back to 1948, and Florida-Georgia and the Gator Bowl have been huge economic drivers and points of civic pride dating back over a century. The Jags make a lot of money by being in Jacksonville, but let's not pretend like the stadium was built for, or would no longer be needed without, the Jags presence in Jacksonville.
2. Rather than demanding a shiny new stadium like almost every other franchise owner in the league of the over 20 years, the Jags proactively came to the table with the recommendation to renovate the existing stadium instead. This lowered the price tag by $1 billion, easily, and saved both sides an insane amount of money.
3. The upgrades that we're being asked to pay half for aren't frivolous, and are based on best practices, fan surveys, and improving the gameday experience for almost all event attendees. The roof was badly needed. Lower temperatures were badly needed. Wider concourses with better food offerings are a genuine need. An easier, cheaper way to add and remove seats for college vs. NFL will pay for itself. This isn't a frivolous cash grab adding $600 million in luxury boxes.
4. The Jags have demonstrated an insane amount of trust in the City of Jacksonville throughout this whole process. It's pretty wild when you think about it. The team dumped $60 million into the sports performance center in good faith that a stadium deal would get done. The Jags new six-story office building is coming out the ground as we speak, with no signed stadium agreement. And a $250 million Four Seasons hotel, adjacent a brownfield, has gone vertical, with no binding agreement the Jags will still be on course to stay in Jacksonville by the time it starts taking guests. Yes, there were city subsidies, but the massive private investment for facilities that make no sense without the Jags was a huge leap of faith by Shad Khan.
5. It's crystal clear that a sports & entertainment district is badly needed adjacent the stadium, and nearly every major NFL stadium agreement in the last decade has included some form of Lot J-type development to drive revenue during the 350 days a year that NFL football isn't being played at the stadium. The Jags originally wanted this included in the stadium deal. The city didn't feel comfortable negotiating both at once. And the Jags said "Fine, let's separate them." It's putting a lot of trust in the city to get a deal done down the road.
6. The Jags, despite pushbacks from the Rory Diamonds of the world on the public match, are prepared to enter into the largest CBA in the entire NFL, despite our small market and the teams lower local revenues than the majority of the league. $150 million, with a genuine concern for standing up the Eastside. They're also sponsoring Metro Park, separately.
7. With a renovation rather than a brand new stadium, and no sports & entertainment district in writing, the Jags have agreed to extend the lease for THIRTY YEARS if the city goes in 50/50 on the stadium and cap a London partnership that clearly isn't going anywhere to 1 regular season game a year. There's a lot of talk about the cost of the deal, but not enough talk about the length of the deal. Our $650 million commitment to upgrading our own city-owned stadium (and a commitment to finish riverfront parks, be a partner in downtown/Eastside development, and finish some deferred maintenance) will keep the team here through 2059. That's insane, and 10 years longer than most expected for a refurb.
I dig it, and I think it genuinely signals a huge step forward from the Jags being a reluctant tenant to a genuine partner in the community.