The Jaguars have a new, somewhat less expensive plan to construct their “Stadium of the Future,” nearly one year after announcing a lavish idea that had the potential to surpass $2 billion in total funding.
On Tuesday, the NFL team and Jacksonville mayor Donna Deegan presented a stadium renovation agreement at a city council meeting. The proposal, which still needs approval from that council, would see the city contribute $775 million toward renovations for EverBank Stadium, while the Jaguars would fund the remaining $625 million of the projected $1.4 billion total, plus any cost overruns.
If approved, Jacksonville would play the 2025 and ’26 seasons at EverBank Stadium with reduced capacity, but it would need to relocate for the ’27 season before the new venue opens in ’28. The team would sign a 30-year lease extension with a specific non-relocation clause to remain in North Florida.
The past 11 months have been fairly contentious, as team and city officials took shots at each other over the stadium plan. Jaguars president Mark Lamping at one point threatened to move out of Jacksonville if the city didn’t come through with $1 billion of funding, before walking those comments back. That led to Deegan declaring she would have final say over any stadium renovations. Along the way, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell even made a visit to Jacksonville to help advance talks.
London Calling
Under this latest plan, the Jaguars would continue to play one home game per season in the U.K., as they’ve done each year since 2013 (excluding ’20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). This fall, they’ll play two games in London, as they did last season. Ahead of the NFL’s full schedule release Wednesday night, the league has already unveiled its full slate of international games.
- Sept. 6: Packers-Eagles (Brazil)
- Oct. 6: Jets-Vikings (London)
- Oct. 13: Jaguars-Bears (London)
- Oct. 20: Patriots-Jaguars (London)
- Nov. 10: Giants-Panthers (Munich)
The NFL Network and ESPN2 are dedicating prime-time shows to the complete schedule beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
