by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Mayor John Peyton’s meeting Wednesday with Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver will focus primarily on resolving the rights to electronic signage in Alltel Stadium, Peyton said Monday.
The mayor’s office had been pushing for a more comprehensive agreement that would address disputed Super Bowl revenue and upcoming naming rights negotiations for the stadium. But before addressing the Rotary Club of Jacksonville’s Monday luncheon, Peyton said the disputed revenue from Alltel’s electronic ribbon boards presented the most pressing issue between the team and City.
“There’s a lot of outstanding issues, obviously, but signage is first and foremost,” said Peyton. “Once that’s resolved, that will take us in the direction to settle these other issues.”
The City’s former lead negotiator, Dean Bonham, told morning listeners of David Lamm’s radio show Oct. 13 that the City preferred to pursue the comprehensive agreement. But that approach has changed and Peyton is now taking the lead in negotiations. Bonham resigned Friday. His resignation letter supported Peyton’s first-hand involvement in the talks.
Peyton credited Bonham with laying the groundwork for an agreement to be reached. But with negotiations dragging and a proposed Gator Bowl lease agreement working its way through the City Council, Peyton said it was time to take over the talks.
“I think Dean recognized he’d largely done what we brought him in to do,” said Peyton. “He’s an expert on signage issues and he’s negotiated a lot of these deals and he’s carried these negotiations a long way. Now the groundwork has been laid and it’s time for the principles to hammer this out.”
The dispute surrounds electronic signs installed in Alltel as part of a 2003 stadium renovation. The Jaguars say their lease on the City-owned stadium gives the team and its sponsors year-round rights to the electronic ribbon boards. The team has offered to give up those rights for four non-Jaguar events a year in exchange for $9.6 million.
The Jaguars say that number comes from Bonham. But Peyton said the value of those advertising rights is yet to be determined. The debate is complicated, but Peyton has a simple goal for what he expects his Wednesday meeting with Weaver to produce.
“An agreement,” said Peyton, banging his fist on the table. “These dollar amounts are not big that we’re talking about. The issues are not insurmountable.”
Peyton also told the Rotary Club that fans who feel passionately about keeping the Jaguars in Jacksonville can have their greatest impact by buying game tickets. A lack of ticket revenue is the greatest challenge facing the team, said Peyton. It’s unfair for fans to expect City Hall subsidies to pick up the slack for poor attendance, he said.
In other comments, Peyton:
• Said he and his staff were fulfilling their mission to bring opportunity to Jacksonville when he pursued a Navy master jet base at Cecil Field. A slow-moving Base Relocation and Closure Commission turned the lobbying into a Jacksonville vs. Virginia debate, he said. Turning down the BRAC Commission would probably “make it a little bit more difficult,” for Jacksonville to bring a nuclear aircraft carrier to Mayport, he said. There has been speculation that a non-nuclear Mayport could be vulnerable to future closures. Peyton said geographic and strategic considerations would likely keep Mayport open.
• Admitted that he was at an impasse with Jacksonville’s judiciary about how to proceed with plans for a new Duval County Courthouse. The judiciary wants to control the process, said Peyton. But he’s not willing to give up control fearing cost overruns. Peyton said the project has three options. First, the mayor’s office and judiciary can come to an agreement. Second, the mayor builds the building without judicial support. Third, the project is postponed.