JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jaguars fans will get their first real look at the renovated EverBank Stadium when the team hosts the Carolina Panthers in Friday night’s preseason game, and the changes are dramatic, team officials said.
Jaguars president Mark Lamping led a tour Wednesday and showed off wider concourses, new entry gates, relocated stadium lights and design features meant to keep fans shaded while allowing breezes to flow through the bowl.
“I can’t come up with anything more dramatic than night and day,” Lamping said. “People won’t recognize it. You’ll come in, you will have these huge concourses. You’ll have what I think will become signature corners in each of the stadium where on television broadcasts it will look very much alive.”
Lamping said the redesign will provide shade for every seat while maintaining an airy feel because of new breezeways and a shroud that pulls air through the corners and concourses. Heated air will exit the stadium through major vent systems built into the roof, he said.
One immediately visible change is the stadium lights. Previously mounted on risers above the bowl, the lights now sit on the top rows. Lamping said the same four sets of field lights remain in use for now, and will eventually be integrated into the roof once the roof structure is complete.
Inside the corners, Lamping noted how much wider the concourses are. “All of this concrete, this lighter concrete that you see that extends all the way back … that’s actually gray topping material on top of the old concourse. All of this is new,” he said, pointing out a new stairwell and a large entry gate.
Food and beverage were redesigned with lower prices, the team said. Popcorn, hot dogs, nachos, candy, water and a 12-ounce domestic beer are being sold for $4.99 as part of a shift away from relying on concessions as a profit center and toward adding value to ticket prices.
Lamping said construction crews will pause work around home games. He described work stoppages as generally beginning several hours before kickoff — “four to eight hours” — and said there may be occasions when work halts up to 72 hours beforehand. Crews resume work after games end, he said.
Construction is expected to continue throughout the 2026 season, with roof steel targeted for completion in early 2027. About 20,000 seats have been removed during the renovation; once finished, the stadium will be able to expand to just over 70,000 seats for major events. Construction crews have logged more than 1.5 million man-hours so far.
“I think it will be a Super Bowl-ready stadium without question,” Lamping said, adding that the city still needs to expand hotel capacity and address convention center needs to fully position Jacksonville for a Super Bowl.