JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Jaguars and the City of Jacksonville celebrated last week when the team announced it would be playing in Orlando for one season while the state-of-the-art “Stadium of the Future” gets built in downtown.
Football fans in Orlando are understandably excited for the Jaguars arrival in 2027, while many fans in Jacksonville see it as a short sacrifice that will pay off with a shiny new stadium with protection from the hot Florida sun they have been asking for for years.
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But the Washington Post Editorial Board used news of the announcement to highlight what it calls “the ongoing shakedown” of Duval County taxpayers.
In an opinion piece published Friday, the board said it believes that “Jacksonville taxpayers are getting fleeced.”
“Taxpayers are shelling out a massive amount of money to get slightly less football in the same place,” the board wrote. “On top of playing the 2027 season in a different city, the 2024 stadium renovation agreement also said that the Jaguars will play one of their home games in London every year. At least when other cities give taxpayer money to a team, they play all their home games at home."
The board also argued that other than temporary construction jobs, renovating the stadium has little impact on employment growth for the city. It pointed to economic research that found stadium subsidies are terrible public investments and argued that “the purpose of government isn’t to build fancy stadiums.” The board noted that less fans will have access to the games, since stadium capacity will be reduced to 42,000 this season and from 67,814 to 63,000 when the new stadium opens.
News4JAX reached out to the Jags, who pointed us to their Stadium of the Future section on their webpage. On economic impact, it says the one-time capital expenditure direct spending impact of $1.4 billion is expected to generate an estimated total economic impact of $2.4 billion for the Jacksonville economy. This impact will support 17,760 full and part-time jobs and generate an estimated $70.7 million in state and local taxes.
Jacksonville City Council finalized a $1.45 billion package of legislation in 2024 to modernize the stadium and keep the Jaguars in Jacksonville for 30 years. That legislation included $775 million in public funding for the stadium’s makeover and $56 million for riverfront parks and a stadium-adjacent flex field. ESPN reported that the city also agreed to pay $150 million over the 2025-26 seasons on maintenance and repairs to prepare the stadium for construction, which means the city will be responsible for 55% of the total cost.
Part of the stadium deal included a community benefits agreement, which will distribute $40 million from the deal to the Eastside neighborhood in the coming years, aimed at revitalizing the area near the stadium. The Jaguars committed to spending $2.5 million in the Eastside annually for the next 30 years.
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“I feel pretty darned proud,” Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said after the deal was finalized. “This is a historic day.”
News4Jax Sports Anchor Jamal St. Cyr, who was critical of the story, said that while the board noted the stadium is projected to be $100 million over budget, it failed to make clear that any overages will be paid for by the Jaguars. St. Cyr also said what the board failed to highlight was all the construction happening around the stadium, an area that hasn’t seen new construction in decades.
“The Stadium of the Future is creating numerous positive benefits for Jacksonville taxpayers: a world class venue for major non-NFL events, the largest Community Benefits Agreement in NFL history, much-needed growth of the local construction workforce, and significant contributions to Downtown Jacksonville’s momentum. We chose to be an NFL city more than 30 years ago. City leaders renewed that commitment with an investment that will pay dividends in Jacksonville’s future,” the mayor’s office said in a statement on Monday. “The $300 million Community Benefits Agreement (with $150 million coming from the Jaguars) attached to the stadium deal is the largest in NFL history and will invest in affordable housing, homelessness, workforce and economic development programs in the Eastside neighborhood and across the city. The CBA also funds completion of our riverfront park system downtown with the completed parks already receiving tens of thousands of visitors each month. The renovated stadium joins these parks, the Four Seasons, Museum of Science and History, UF graduate campus, and many more residential and commercial developments that are driving Downtown Jacksonville’s renaissance.”
The mayor’s office added that the stadium is a city-owned facility that, without renovation, would have passed its useful life.
In 2026, the team is scheduled to play two games in London. Jaguars President Mark Lamping said the two games would allow for extra progress on stadium construction.
The 2026 London games will take place in back-to-back weeks – one as the Jaguars’ yearly game there and one to meet a separate league requirement that teams play one international game every four years.
Lamping said the Jaguars were leaving the door open to playing two London games in 2027. 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.