Jacksonville's "Stadium of the Future" might come sooner than later, if Jaguars officials has anything to say about it.
As reported by WJXT in Jacksonville, the team has maintained that the massive task of renovating EverBank Stadium will take at least two years, but now it looks like the Jags are trying to put that preliminary construction schedule into overdrive.
The goal is to limit the amount of time Jacksonville will host games in another city.
In an interview published by Jaguars.com on Saturday and cited by WJXT, Jaguars president Mark Lamping said the team is trying to “see if there’s anything we can do to maybe go from playing away for two years to just one year.”
“We don’t have that solved yet,” Lamping told team reporter John Oehser. “But we’re going to continue to do everything we possibly can to still get the stadium done on time and have it be the least disruptive as possible as far as our games in Jacksonville are concerned.”
Related: 11 Renderings: Jaguars Reveal 'Stadium of the Future' Plans
Under the current proposal for stadium renovations, work would begin in 2025 and would take the Jaguars away from Jacksonville for two seasons. There was also a plan on the table to keep the team playing at EverBank but if the team stayed, the renovations would take longer and cost a lot more money.
The Jaguars are considering Daytona International Speedway, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville and the Camping World Stadium in Orlando as possible options to host home games.
According to WJXT's Travis Gibson, the key question being hashed out now between the team and the city is how much taxpayers will put toward the proposed $2 billion plan to renovate the stadium and create an adjacent entertainment district. The Jaguars are proposing a 50-50 split for the total project.
Gibson pointed out that in an interview with the Florida Times-Union during the Jaguars’ recent trip to London, owner Shad Khan said he’s optimistic a deal to renovate the stadium will get done by mid-2024 and said he met with Jacksonville mayor Donna Deegan during that game against the Atlanta Falcons.
“I think she’s doing a great job. She has really hired great professionals around her to represent the city. All these are great signs,” Khan said.
