by Sean McManus
Staff Writer
Three different City Council committees voted unanimously Thursday night to allocate an additional City money for improvements at Alltel Stadium, and extend the City’s lease agreement with the Jacksonville Jaguars another five years to 2029.
The legislation will go before the full Council Tuesday.
Sam Mousa, the City’s chief administrative officer gave an hour and a half presentation to the Finance Committee, Recreation Committee, and the Public Services Committee, and answered questions for another 30 minutes before the committees gave their approval for the legislation.
City treasurer, Shari Shuman also spoke and supplemented the presentation, which included color schematics of the structural improvements to the stadium, with lengthy financial statements outlining the details of the proposed deal. The legislation calls for $40 million in improvements, with the City paying $11.9 million, while the Jaguars are responsible for $28.1 million. There were no representatives from the Jaguars present at the meeting.
Before the meeting City Council president Jerry Holland said that any time there is a proposal to send more money in the direction of the Jaguars, it raises eyebrows.
“But it’s like if your neighbor offered to build a swimming pool in your back yard,” said Holland. “Sure, they’d get to use it, but it makes sense because it significantly raises the value of your house.”
According to the bill, the Jaguars will be responsible for any cost overruns incurred during the renovation.
“The reason I wanted this big meeting is so we could get everything flushed out, and collectively get as much information as possible about where this money is going to go,” said Holland.
The improvements will include better vertical and horizontal transportation and access to the stadium such as exterior escalators, improvements to the south end zone, a new restaurant, a new sports bar, an entertainment area, and a new press box. The improvements are meant to sustain Alltel Stadium to the 2005 Super Bowl and beyond.
Holland emphasized that improvements to the stadium are improvements to City property and not just free money for the Jaguars.
Bill Prescott, the Jaguar’s chief financial officer, said earlier Thursday that he believes the improvements are a worthwhile investment for the City.
“This will positively impact our ticket sales,” he said, “which will mean more financial stability for the City down the road.”
Prescott that the way the plan is supposed to work, the Jaguars will maintain control of the revenue-producing elements such as concessions, because they supply the front money for the food and beverages, something that will remain even during non-Jaguars events.
“But all the other money generated during non-Jaguars events, the City keeps,” Prescott said.
Several times during the meeting, both Mousa and Council members stressed the importance of moving forward on the proposal so that there would be time to finish the improvements before the Super Bowl. The components that are meant to add seats for the Florida-George game should be completed by the 2003 game.