Orlando is ready for its opportunity to prove that it’s more than just tourists and Mickey Mouse.
For one year, the city will be home to the Jaguars, and they’re more than ready for the opportunity. The City of Orlando rolled out the red, er, teal carpet for the Jaguars braintrust on Wednesday morning, saying that it has waited for this opportunity for decades. Mayor Buddy Dyer said that while the city has never hosted a regular-season NFL game, it already feels accustomed to being an NFL stop because of its familiarity with serving as host to the Pro Bowl.
Recommended Videos
“I can promise you we will be welcoming hosts to the Jags fans and we are looking forward to ’27,” Dyer said.
The city welcomed the Jaguars and Mayor Donna Deegan with open arms, ticking off all the reasons why it is more than ready to be Jacksonville’s home away from home next year. Outside of the obvious as the hub of all things Disney and theme parks, Orlando is home to the NBA’s Magic, the NWSL’s Pride and the MLS Orlando City teams. They have the ECHL’s Solar Bears and the United Football League’s Storm.
The Buccaneers are just 85 miles away from Orlando, but the Jaguars will truly feel like the city’s team for a season. Jacksonville will play between six and eight games in Camping World Stadium in 2027. The team and the City of Jacksonville have in their agreement that the Jaguars can play up to three home games in London in 2027 due to the renovation, but the actual number hasn’t been settled on yet.
“Deep playoff run. With home games,” Dyer said.
The economic boost to that city’s economy stands to be robust. Deegan said that Orlando should realize more than $25 million a game from hosting the Jaguars, and that Jacksonville was more than happy to share that.
Temporarily.
Deegan joked that as much as she’s thrilled the team will be just a short drive away, the relocation is only temporary.
“Don’t get any crazy ideas here, Orlando. We love you. You are our neighbor. We appreciate you. We’re southern through and through and we like to share, but in a year, after ’27, they’re coming on home,” she said. “They’re coming back down 95. Back to Jacksonville. We’ve got ‘em for 30 years at least.”
For the Jaguars, it’s a marriage that feels right. Camping World Stadium is just a bit over two hours away from Jacksonville, close enough for fans to make the drive and have it not feel excruciating. The other option that was explored during the initial phases of the Stadium of the Future conversation was playing games away from Jacksonville for two years and not one. But through various town hall discussions with fans, team president Mark Lamping said the sentiment was overwhelming to keep Jacksonville in town as much as possible.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan said that Orlando has been a special place for his family for years. Khan said he and wife, Anna, spent three weeks every year in Orlando with their children, Tony and Shanna, and those memories remain some of the family’s most cherished.
“Obviously, we were sold on Orlando from day 1,” Khan said. “I just couldn’t be happier for us to be here under the circumstances to be playing our next season here. … Orlando is as perfect as our home away from home and we’re grateful to everyone who made it happen.”
A day earlier, the NFL voted unanimously to make Orlando’s Camping World Stadium the temporary home for the Jaguars in 2027 while construction on the Stadium of the Future ramps up. The vote could have been held last year, but Khan said the NFL was meticulous in every detail in the process to make the game-day operation as smooth as possible while playing a home game more than two hours away from Jacksonville.
“We are thrilled to host the Jaguars in ’27. It’s a historic opportunity that in no way we will take for granted,” Dyer said.
Dyer said he was familiar with the team’s famous, “Duuuval” rallying call, but said he needed to work on it to make sure he got it right.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings was much better on the well-known “Duuuval”, saying that he’s very familiar with Jacksonville because his wife, Val, is from the area.
Deegan joked that she has heard folks trying to morph “Duuuval” into something that includes Orlando, but joked that is off-limits for change.
“That is a non-negotiable. That has to stay,” Deegan said before suggesting head coach Liam Coen teaches fans how to say it. Coen’s first “Duuuval” became a meme after he botched it at his opening press conference.