As $1.4 Billion Upgrades Become Due, City Asked to Pay More Than Jaguars For New Stadium

Nidhi | 16/05/2024
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Everbank Stadium is slated to get a makeover and transform into the “stadium of the future,” and it comes at quite a cost. The framework of the deal, which has been in the works since August of last year, has finally been finalized and the estimated total cost is projected to be $1.4 billion. However, Jacksonville City is paying more than the team for the upgrades.

The city of Jacksonville is apparently going to provide $775 million in public funding to remake the Everbank Stadium, while the team will pay $625 million. The split for the total cost is 55-45, with the city providing an extra $150 million for deferred maintenance and ongoing capital improvements, with the Jaguars covering cost overruns.

The proposed upgrades include a shade for the stadium to shield it from sunshine and rain while remaining open-aired. Illustrations also depict a mirrored exterior and a raised, encircling concourse equipped with observation decks showcasing vistas of the St. Johns River and Downtown skyline.

The team indicated that the concourse would be quadruple the width of its current iteration, boasting “interactive social bars” and a variety of local culinary options. 

Fans Slag off the Team

The Jaguars are one of the many teams in the NFL that are looking to renovate and rebuild their stadiums. While the city and the team came together in this instance to split the cost, the Chiefs had a harder time convincing Kansas of their upgrade plans.

However, football fans couldn’t help but poke fun at the Jaguars after news of the renovation plans. Many pointed toward the Jaguars’ abysmal record as a team in the previous seasons:

Some people were also not happy over the fact that the city is forking over more money than the team for the renovations:

Factor in the detail that the Jaguars’ owner Shahid Khan is worth over $12 billion, and things got really heated:

The plan has also caught the ire of some councilmen like Rory Diamond, who called it “insanity” and “not legal” in a post on X. Diamond noted that there are many other things in the city that could use the funds that have been allocated for the stadium project.

Post Edited By: Nidhi

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Nidhi

Nidhi is an NFL Editor for The SportsRush. Her interest in NFL began with 'The Blindside' and has been working as an NFL journalist for the past year. As an athlete herself, she uses her personal experience to cover sports immaculately. She is a graduate of English Literature and when not doing deep dives into Mahomes' latest family drama, she inhales books on her kindle like nobody's business. She is proud that she recognised Travis Kelce's charm (like many other NFL fangirls) way before Taylor Swift did, and is waiting with bated breath for the new album to drop.

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