NFL commissioner Roger Goodell attended this week’s Monday Night Football matchup between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cincinnati Bengals. The visiting Bengals’ upset win provided some better-than-expected drama — but that’s likely not why Goodell was in town.
Jacksonville mayor Donna Deegan and city council president Ron Salem met with Goodell before the game, according to the Florida Times-Union, to discuss the city’s ongoing talks with the Jaguars about partnering to fund $2 billion worth of construction for a future stadium.
Earlier this year, the team impressed fans with a bold vision for a reimagined stadium in downtown Jacksonville that would take its current home, EverBank Stadium, to an entirely new level. Renderings showed off upgrades like a canopy to enhance the gameday experience.
Under one proposal, the NFL team and city would split the costs, amounting to $1 billion each, but securing a deal has proved to be difficult. Jaguars president Mark Lamping had to walk back comments he made that many characterized as a threat to relocate the franchise without a deal for the stadium funding.
Bringing Goodell to Jacksonville could be a savvy negotiating ploy from the Jaguars to speed up city leaders’ thinking. A mayoral spokesperson told the Times-Union that the city still is months away from having a deal in place.
