Most Jacksonville residents don’t support using public money to upgrade the Jacksonville Jaguars football stadium, according to a University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Lab poll released Feb. 28.
Jaguars President Mark Lamping said in June that the team wants to complete designs and planning for a full renovation of TIAA Bank Field “well in advance” of the 2029 season when the team’s lease expires.
Asked whether they would support or oppose the city using up to $750 million of public funds to split the cost of stadium renovations with the Jaguars, 61% of those polled said they oppose the expenditure, either strongly or somewhat.
While those polled didn’t support funding the stadium, they did show support for the team and its owner.
Asked how important is it for the city to have an NFL franchise, 84% said it was very or somewhat important.
When asked about how Trevor Lawrence is handling his job as Jaguars quarterback, 86% said they strongly or somewhat approved of his performance.
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson and owner Shad Khan also found 84% and 71% approval, respectively.
Finally, when asked whether they had shouted “DUUUVAL” in the past year, 48% said they had personally participated in the tradition.
“I think it’s safe to say a lot of people like having an NFL team, and even approve of Shad Khan, but the voters we’ve talked to do not want to foot the bill for a new or improved stadium,” said Michael Binder, director of the Public Opinion Research Lab, in a news release.
“It’s clearly not for lack of Duval pride, but most prefer to let the billionaire buy his own toys.”
The poll of 593 registered, likely Duval County voters was conducted via phone Feb. 20-24. The polling group comprised 292 Democrats, 239 Republicans and 62 non-party or other. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4.0 percentage points.