Jaguars’ stadium, sports district could cost City of Jacksonville more than $1B

[marcuscnelson]

Isn’t that essentially the ask? I thought the original proposal was something like $800 million of the $1.4 billion Stadium plus maybe $150 million for the district. It just seems to me like they’re not saying much publicly about the district (which is probably smart, why bring much attention to a potentially contentious thing aside from the big contentious thing).

[Snaketoz]

I think the public backing a stadium deal is much depending on play on the field.  If the Jags are playing well, the support for funding the remodel will rise.  However, if the offense plays like they did yesterday, support will fall. Surely, someone snuck quaaludes into the teams water bottles yesterday.

[Skybox111]

Wow the whole city of 900 plus thousand polled on the stadium and jail. Oh wait only 500 people were polled on both of those topics. Them putting out there that the entire population polled and agreed to those questions.

[Fallen Buckeye]

The devil is really in the details. Personally, I need to see more info about funding mechanisms, future liabilities created by the improvements, disaster resilience, and how this project benefits citizens outside of game day before I can pass judgement. For instance, I'm much more open to adding surcharges to ticket sales that the city taking on debt to pay for its share.

I was told by a city manager once that the key to negotiating is being willing to walk away from a deal to get what you need. So I would definitely play hardball. I'd force the Jags to justify every cent of public money and I'd get independent verification of all ROI figures presented. I really don't care about the deals other cities give to their sports teams except for the evidence of ROI we could expect from our investments and ideas that could be used to improve outcomes for our citizens.

[Zac T]

Wow the whole city of 900 plus thousand polled on the stadium and jail. Oh wait only 500 people were polled on both of those topics. Them putting out there that the entire population polled and agreed to those questions.

Yep, that's kinda how polls work

[Ken_FSU]

Wow the whole city of 900 plus thousand polled on the stadium and jail. Oh wait only 500 people were polled on both of those topics. Them putting out there that the entire population polled and agreed to those questions.

500 is actually a fairly large sample size for a poll like this. As a fella who occasionally conducts surveys/polls, it would be obscenely expensive and logistically impossible to ask 900,000 people to complete a poll. It would never happen. So, instead, you administer the survey to a smaller, random sample of the larger population. The larger the sample, the more certain you can be that your findings are a close approximation to the sentiments of the full population. The margin of error on this particular survey was around 5%. So, technically, instead of knowing that 46% of locals sampled would support a $1 billion investment if it kept the team here, we actuallly know (with 95% certainty) that somewhere between 41% and 51% of the full population would feel the same way. It’s not perfect, particularly if you don’t use proper rigor when selecting your sample, but it’s usually a good finger in the wind.

[thelakelander]

I'm excited about the mixed-use development surrounding the stadium, more so than the stadium itself. The development portion makes this potential deal a bit different than the average sports stadium deal of the past when discussing ROI.

[jaxoNOLE]

I would love to see a poll that asks respondents to rank the proposed megaprojects by their preferred prioritization, as well as their levels of awareness and support for each project.

[jaxjags]

I doubt that anyone taking that survey understands they (the city of Jacksonville) owns the stadium.  It is not owned by the Jaguars or Shad.

[marcuscnelson]

Came across this and thought I'd share.

While HOK ultimately won the contest to design the "Stadium of the Future," one of the apparent competitors, MEIS, has published their design:

https://meisstudio.com/tiaa-bank-field-1/rzuw6806w8nlkarjbi68u2z4gp8nom

Design for a $1B transformation of TIAA Bank Stadium, home to the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. Originally built in the early 1990’s this study anticipates a complete reimagining of the stadium model of this era.

The design employs the addition of a large structural ETFE clad shell whose shape recalls the claws of the Jaguar. Several variations were studied including a retractable ETFE “lens” to fully cover the field and removable turf. Concourses are widened and integrated with the surrounding landscape in a much more natural terraced configuration taking advantage of the lush Florida landscape. One unique feature of the design was an “occupied” video board that included VIP seating and supporting amenities. This video board becomes the Jacksonville equivalent of LA’s famous Hollywood sign.

[jaxlongtimer]

Interesting.  But in these renderings it kind of looks too "busy" to me.  Eye candy on overdrive  . 

I would also think the maintenance of all the detail would be very expensive, especially in our climate.  When the City negotiates with the Jags, the allocation of the maintenance and operational expenses need to be as much a part of the negotiations as the upfront costs.  Over time, they are likely to be greater.

[marcuscnelson]

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was in town during Monday's game and met with city officials about the stadium plans.

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2023/12/07/goodell-khan-and-jacksonville-city-leaders-talk-stadium-deal/71825177007/

[jaxlongtimer]

Employee steals $22 million from Jags before they notice it  .  Are we sure they need City dollars to balance their books?

Former Jaguars employee accused of stealing millions from team used most of the money to gamble on sports, attorney says

The lawyer for a former financial planning manager for the Jacksonville Jaguars accused of stealing more than $22 million from the franchise said he spent most of that money gambling on sports.

In a news release Dec. 7, the attorney for Amit Patel said his client will plead guilty to the charges of wire fraud and making illegal transactions and that he checked into a rehabilitation center to treat his gambling addiction this spring.

Patel met with NFL officials in February who were investigating his gambling activities, primarily involving daily fantasy sports betting on websites like DraftKings and FanDuel.

Later that month, he was fired for using the Jaguars’ money to fund his gambling addiction.

That attorney said 99% of the misappropriated money went to cover his gambling losses to win money back “with the anticipation he would repay the funds with the winnings and make the Jaguars whole.”

According to this federal indictment, Patel used his responsibilities as a manager of financial planning and analysis for the Jacksonville Jaguars to spend the team’s money on personal expenses.

Federal attorneys allege Patel spent more than $22 million of the company’s money via their virtual credit card program on gambling, private jet rides and luxury hotels for himself and his friends, cryptocurrency, a country club membership, spa treatments, event tickets, furniture and luxury wristwatches including one that cost him, but really the Jags, more than $95,000....

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/news/2023/dec/07/former-jaguars-employee-accused-of-stealing-millions-from-team-used-most-of-the-money-to-gamble-on-sports-attorney-says/

[thelakelander]

That's a crazy amount of money to steal and get away with it so long.

[vicupstate]

Seems like there should have been an obvious disconnect between this guys' salary and his lifestyle/trinkets.