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

[marcuscnelson]

Multiple outlets reporting a deal has been reached on stadium renovations and will be unveiled to City Council next week.

[jaxlongtimer]

Here you go... this Tuesday at City Council:

The Jaguars stadium renovation agreement will be presented at the next City Council meeting Tuesday.

Mayor Donna Deegan, lead negotiator Mike Weinstein and Jaguars President Mark Lamping will present the agreement at the beginning of the Tuesday meeting, according to a statement released from the city Wednesday.

“We have reached an agreement on the framework of a deal,” Deegan said in a release. “The negotiating team is currently putting the final details on paper, and we will release that information as soon as it is available.”...

....The $1.4 billion deal is not just one agreement, Weinstein told the Business Journal, it’s eight or nine different agreements totaling 400 to 500 pages. Together those documents will comprise a 30-year agreement that lays out the financial obligations of both the city and the Jaguars, detail who is responsible for maintenance, insurance and security at the stadium and establish a community benefit agreement.

The community benefit agreement is something both the Jaguars and the city are interested in, negotiators say: While such agreements have been part of many NFL stadium agreements, Weinstein said he anticipates Jacksonville's being the largest in the NFL, setting the stage for the team to fund economic development outside of the stadium....

https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2024/05/08/jaguars-stadium-agreement-ready.html?utm_source=st&utm_medium=en&utm_campaign=BN&utm_content=JA&ana=e_JA_BN&j=35308899&senddate=2024-05-08

[thelakelander]

^ How do you feel about a CBA being included?

[Ken_FSU]

^ How do you feel about a CBA being included?

I think the devil will ultimately be in the details.

If the CBA mirrors that of other recent NFL agreements, it will likely be a $2-$3 million annual contribution by the team to a community benefit fund, overseen by a board made up of city officials, Jags officials, and community leaders. Some cities stipulate use for loans to small businesses, training programs, affordable housing initiatives, etc. Others leave it more vague, and hence, more easily manipulated by special interests.

Will be happy if it's truly used to build up the Eastside and benefit the local Jax community.

Will be less enthused if it's a promise to use DBE firms and pay workers $18/hour to build a luxury sports & entertainment district.

Either way, I hope City Council is savvy enough to know that a CBA isn't some altruistic idea the Jags came up with to help the community. Instead, it's become a standard part of nearly every single new stadium development asking for large amounts of public money. The Texans, Bills, Raiders, and Chiefs all have CBAs for their stadium projects. So do the Clippers, Bucks, etc.

[thelakelander]

^In this case, the push for a CBA came from the Eastside community. That push dates back to the Lot J days.

[jaxlongtimer]

^In this case, the push for a CBA came from the Eastside community. That push dates back to the Lot J days.

Will it include other areas such as the Northwest Quadrant where even larger areas are in need?  There are such pockets all over Jax.  Nothing against the Eastside and they clearly benefit being direct neighbors of the Jags so I get that.  But, taxpayers all over Duval are chipping in so some funds should be spread about the entire county, it would seem.

[thelakelander]

Totally understand. I look forward to the resulting community dialogue next week.

[thelakelander]

https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/jaguars-stadium-deal-framework-finalized-residents-concerned-impact-historic-neighborhoods/TOAUDF7RYJCIZNGHFWIBG3OD6A/

[marcuscnelson]

Some details starting to leak:

https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/breaking-sources-revealing-action-news-jaxs-ben-becker-details-jacksonvilles-stadium-deal/EWCBVOH3LZDSFBAT2I4QQ7FFDI/

These include $625 million to be raised per side, for the City of Jacksonville and the Jaguars. Financing is still to be determined. $150 million will be in workforce money from the city geared toward the Eastside, with the Jaguars matching that figure.

One home game a year will remain in London with possibly two played every four years. NFL rules require every team to play one game overseas every four years. The rule right now is once every eight years, but it will go to every four years in 2025.

[jaxlongtimer]

^ The math in this indicates this: $625 million x 2 = $1.25 billion, of which $150 million x 2, or $300 million, is "geared" for the Eastside, netting $950 million for the stadium.

With the original vision projected at $2 billion, not counting the Eastside, I take it an entertainment district would run $2 billion less $950 million for the stadium or another $1.05 billion.  So, Khan wanted more for the entertainment district than the stadium?  Lot J is looking like pocket change.

As noted before, my main concern is who is responsible for the inevitable cost overruns which can be substantial.

[marcuscnelson]

“Workforce money geared for the Eastside” sounds to me more like a guarantee that $300 million of the $1.25b will go to hiring workers from the Eastside for whatever stadium related projects they can work on, akin to how the Miller Electric Center work was handled.

The original estimates were for an up to $1.4 billion stadium plus an up to $668 million entertainment district, which is where $2b topline came from. But we will see tomorrow what the current picture looks like in terms of all that.

[Ken_FSU]

Will happily be proven wrong, but that $625 million 50/50 split seems highly implausible on the surface, particularly without a deal in place for a sports and entertainment district. If true without any weird strings attached, the city should sign it yesterday, as a true 50/50 public private split just hasn’t happened with recent NFL stadium deals. Very curious to see what happens tomorrow.

[fsu813]

Will happily be proven wrong, but that $625 million 50/50 split seems highly implausible on the surface, particularly without a deal in place for a sports and entertainment district. If true without any weird strings attached, the city should sign it yesterday,

Plus tax.

[thelakelander]

“Workforce money geared for the Eastside” sounds to me more like a guarantee that $300 million of the $1.25b will go to hiring workers from the Eastside for whatever stadium related projects they can work on, akin to how the Miller Electric Center work was handled.

No the CBA is much more than that. Hiring people at the stadium won't do much to combat displacement. The next few weeks will be entertaining.

[landfall]

As a side note, I have no real issue with them playing in Gainesville temporarily. The team and the city need to do a better job of promoting themselves as a regional attraction and this gives them a prime platform to do so.