Renovations are fully in gear at the Jacksonville Jaguars’ “Stadium of the Future” now that the city issued a permit Feb. 27 for $696.5 million of work on the project, the largest portion of the at least $1.4 billion renovation.
The permit application, submitted Oct. 6, was for construction bid package IFC #4 that involves eight levels and 652,735 square feet of renovations at EverBank Stadium in Downtown Jacksonville.
The latest permit boosts the construction project costs to more than $1.33 billion.
City records show that permits totaling almost $640.14 million had previously been issued since Dec. 10, 2024, when the foundation was approved.
The city is reviewing a permit application for a fire sprinkler pipe project at almost $6.8 million.
“It is the final package and in terms of number of items covered, it is the largest to date,” said Jaguars Communications Director Lyndsay Rossman on Sept. 18.
“Our final and largest construction bid package is now open for the Stadium of the Future,” the NFL team posted on LinkedIn about IFC #4.
The project scope includes:
• New field level club spaces.
• Additional private suites.
• New mechanical, electrical, lighting and fire alarm systems.
• New low-voltage systems including converged building network, Wi-Fi and DAS (distributed antenna system).
• Renovated restrooms and concessions throughout.
• Renovated miscellaneous back-of-house and front-of-house spaces throughout.
The city issued what was then the biggest permit for the transformation Sept. 11, 2025, at a project cost of $532.14 million for the “SOTF Stadium of the Future - IFC 3 Permit.”
The timeline
The Jaguars and the city want to open the renovated stadium in August 2028.
The team’s timeline called for stadium construction to begin in February 2025. The foundation permit was issued Dec. 10, 2024, with more work starting in February.
The Jaguars played at EverBank Stadium during the 2025 NFL season with a slightly reduced capacity and are scheduled to return in 2026 with a stadium capacity of 42,465 after permanent seat removal and temporary seating is installed, according to the “Stadium of the Future” pages on Jaguars.com.
Team President Mark Lamping said Feb. 25 the Jaguars are set to play two home games in London in the 2026 regular season, leaving two preseason games and six regular season games at EverBank Stadium.
The extra game in England will allow the Jaguars to catch up on construction or work ahead of the 2027 season, Lamping said.
The Jaguars’ two London games in 2026 will take place in back-to-back weeks – one as the Jaguars’ yearly game in London and one to meet a separate league requirement that teams play one international game every four years.
One London game was already on the 2026 schedule. The Jaguars asked the NFL to move one of the Jaguars’ games in London scheduled in 2030 to 2026.
If the Jaguars can bookend those games with a bye week or a road game, that will give the organization extra time to work on the stadium, Lamping said.
The Jaguars plan to spend the 2027 season playing in Orlando’s Camping World Stadium, Lamping said previously.
The temporary move to Orlando is not official. The Jaguars expect it to be approved at the NFL owners meeting in March.
The Jaguars have not agreed to play their annual London game in 2027, but they have scheduled their NFL-required game in England that year, Lamping said Feb. 25.
Lamping said the Jaguars were leaving the door open to playing two London games in 2027.
Cost overruns expected
Construction was underway Feb. 25 on the second grand staircase and the concourse extension that would connect the two and wrap around the full stadium.
The Jaguars opened the first of four grand staircases for the new stadium ahead of the 2025 season opener.
Work also is underway on the first steps to install the stadium’s roof. Seventy-five steel beams, connected to underground concrete, have been installed around the stadium. Those beams, which Lamping said will be completed by August, will help support the roof.
Jaguars.com says steel erection and concourse expansion work will occur during the 2026 season, and fans will be able to see the structure supporting the canopy being constructed, the site says.
Roof installation will begin in the first half of 2027, Lamping said.
Lamping said in a December interview with the Daily Record that cost overruns are expected for the stadium.
“Our cost projections literally change in real time. (If) I gave you a number today, it’d be outdated a half hour from now,” Lamping said Feb. 25. “We will be over $1.4 billion.”
Under legislation approved by Jacksonville City Council in June 2024, the city is contributing $775 million in public funding for the project with the Jaguars providing $625 million.
City Chief Administrative Officer Mike Weinstein told Council members in December 2025 that the Jaguars would be responsible for all cost overruns not brought on by city delays.
The legislation
The NFL owners’ group gave final approval Oct. 15, 2024, to the Jaguars’ deal with the city.
The Jaguars lease the stadium from the city, which owns it.
The owners’ vote allowed the team to proceed toward remaking EverBank Stadium with such features as a partial roof cover, expanded and elevated concourses, a park-like entrance, corner openings to improve airflow and a reflective outer coating designed to reduce interior heat.
Council finalized a deal June 25, 2024, to modernize the stadium and keep the team in it for 30 years.
The $1.45 billion package of legislation, Ordinance 2024-0904, included funding for the stadium’s makeover, the 30-year lease, a nonrelocation agreement and $56 million in spending on riverfront parks and the stadium-adjacent flex field.