JAX Chamber urges City Council to pass Stadium of the Future deal

Business

The JAX Chamber is putting its weight behind the Jacksonville Jaguars’ “Stadium of the Future,” as the Chamber board of directors voted May 17 to urge the City Council to approve a proposed agreement to build the stadium.

“This is an incredibly important deal for the future of our city,” JAX Chamber President and CEO Daniel Davis said in a news release. “A deal to keep the Jaguars here for at least another 30 years and a state-of-the-art stadium for the team and other major events are huge wins. I commend Mayor (Donna) Deegan and the Jaguars for coming together, listening to community input and getting a fair agreement done.”

The proposed deal calls for the city and Jaguars each to contribute $625 million for construction of the $1.25 billion stadium, which will be built on the bones of the existing facility. In addition, the city would provide $150 million for deferred maintenance and capital projects that will make the renovations possible.

The chamber’s endorsement comes as the Council awaits the delivery of the seven separate agreements that make up the overall deal. Details that have been released thus far came from an overview of the package presented by Deegan, Jaguars President Mark Lamping and city lead negotiator Mike Weinstein.

The chamber also is backing a $300 million community benefits agreement that is included in the deal. That agreement calls for the team and city to each contribute $150 million to fund workforce development and address affordable housing and homelessness in the Out East neighborhood and elsewhere. It also includes $75 million for development of parks, including Riverfront Plaza and Shipyards West Park.

Council members have questioned whether the community benefits agreement is necessary. Council President Ron Salem says he will prioritize consideration of the other six other agreements, which all deal directly with the stadium, before turning to the community benefits portion. He reasoned that without a stadium, there would be no community benefits agreement.

The chamber release says the agreement will provide “significant community projects.”

“We have to invest in the Jaguars and the stadium – that’s part of the deal of being an NFL city and we understand that. The Community Benefit Agreement is also a huge part of this deal and we will see significant benefits from these investments,” Davis said in the release. “We will be active in speaking with the City Council on the importance of this proposal and urge them to approve the agreement.”