JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – While the Jags season is over, we want to know what’s next for the so-called “Stadium of the Future.” Will the team play at EverBank Stadium or somewhere else during renovations?
“I think the sooner the better. If it takes pushing the games out to where fans can get back on a regular schedule, I think that would be great. You know, sacrifice now, but save on the back end where fans can enjoy,” Tye Galloway, a Jags fan said.
News4JAX spoke with Jaguars President, Mark Lamping, two weeks ago, one idea he talked about was playing the 2026 season at home with limited capacity while construction took place. Then moving the games out of town the following year to finish up.
The city’s chief negotiator on the project, Mike Weinstein, said that’s just an idea.
“The idea of trying to only be away one season, rather than two seasons is possible, but not necessarily doable. We need more information, we need to make sure we don’t jeopardize the finished product. It would be great if we can make that happen, but we’ve got to make sure the schedule works. We got to make sure it’s completed on time, and we have to see how much it will cost,” Weinstein said.
They are only talking about stadium upgrades, and not the surrounding area to the stadium. Right now one price being thrown around is $1.4 billion. That could and likely will change. Right now they are waiting for an overall assessment of the current stadium. Four companies are vying to do that study, and we could soon learn who will get that job.
“So, we’re moving appropriately, everything is sort of on track. It’s very complicated,” Weinstein said.
Both sides hope this summer we’ll have an agreement on the stadium renovations and lease. That will need approval from the city council and the NFL.