JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After dozens attended a meeting Wednesday night in Mandarin, the community will again have a chance to weigh in on the $1.4 billion proposal for the “Stadium of the Future” at a “huddle” Thursday night in Northwest Jacksonville.
Thursday’s meeting is the second of five “community huddles” around the city designed to get public input on the funding proposal for the EverBank Stadium renovation project.
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The city and the Jaguars on Tuesday announced a plan for a 50-50 split of the $1.25 billion “Stadium of the Future” project.
According to Mayor Donna Deegan, Jaguars President Mark Lamping and Mike Weinstein, who presented the deal to the City Council on Tuesday, the city’s $625 million portion will be factored into the annual budget across the next four years and won’t include a tax increase for residents.
The city also agreed to pay $150 million, if a new deal is signed, for maintenance and upkeep, bringing Jacksonville’s total investment to $775 million.
The “Stadium of the Future Community Huddles” are free and open to the public, with no registration required.
During the City Council meeting, Deegan, Lamping and Weinsten laid out numbers, a timeline, what taxpayers will be on the hook for and the two stadiums where the Jaguars could play during the renovation season, which would come in 2027.
Almost all of the city’s investment will come from stretching the Better Jacksonville Plan out until 2030 and using those funds to help fund the renovation. The Better Jacksonville Plan was a half-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2000, a $2.25 billion program set to improve things like roads, infrastructure, development and public facilities.
As a part of the deal, the city is committing millions of dollars to initiatives that can enhance the city, including addressing affordable housing, workforce development, homelessness and parks.
At the earliest, the council, which must approve any plan before it can move forward, is expected to vote on the stadium deal on June 25, after the community has provided feedback at the “huddles.” The NFL owners would then need to sign off on the plan approved by City Council.
To see the information that was presented at Wednesday’s huddle, visit jacksonville.gov.
Here is the schedule for the remaining meetings:
- Legends Center, May 16, 6-7:30 p.m.
- Fletcher High School, May 20, 6-7:30 p.m.
- Sandalwood High School, May 29, 6-7:30 p.m.
- Westside High School, May 30, 6-7:30 p.m.
News4JAX asked Lamping what he thought about residents opposing the city spending money on the stadium. He said the decision isn’t his to make.
“If you’re asking what my particular opinion what I would say to them, I would say you’re really fortunate because there were 20 people that were going to determine whether this was going to happen: the 19 council members and the mayor, now there’s only 19. So ultimately, that decision on the taxpayer money that goes into this is not going to be made by me. It’s not going to be made by anyone from the Jaguars. It’s going to be made by 19 elected officials,” Lamping said.
Weinstein, the lead negotiator for the agreement, said it will ultimately save taxpayers $1.5 billion with how city leaders plan to fund it.
Some at Wednesday night’s huddle, however, were skeptical.