JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville’s “Stadium of the Future” might not be that far off.
According to News4JAX sources, a deal between the city and the Jaguars is imminent and it could be revealed by next week.
At the next council meeting set for next Tuesday, residents should have some answers to exactly where this is going, what it could cost and who’s paying for what.
The biggest concern is how much a renovated stadium will cost. Right now that figure is at $1.4 billion.
How that would be split, well that is shifting and the amount has not been released.
When talks first started nearly a year ago, it was thought the city would pick up the lion’s share now that may not be the case.
News4JAX reached out to the Jaguars and the city. Right now, neither side wanted to talk about where this all stands.
“The agreement is quite complicated and voluminous it relates to finances, it relates to keeping the stadium up to speed, you know, maintenance, capital improvements, what have you. It’s all the different pieces. And what happens is, if you change one piece of the agreement, it may change for other pieces that you already had agreed to complicate it,” the city’s chief negotiator Mike Weinstein said recently about the deal.
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Obviously, city council members will have lots of questions. And residents probably will as well.
A series of town hall meetings are being scheduled where residents will have the chance to give feedback.
This deal is only for the stadium and not any development in the surrounding area.
What is clear is that all seats will have some shade. News4JAX was also told the renovations will follow much of what the public has been shown when the stadium renovations were first introduced.
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There is still a lot that must happen before the new stadium becomes a reality.
The city council must approve it, which could happen by summer and then the NFL owners have to agree to the plan which may not happen until October.