The deal is done, and the future of the National Football League is secured in Jacksonville for decades to come.
That's the takeaway after the City Council voted 14-1 (with two abstentions) to approve spending $775 million renovating its NFL stadium, money to be matched with $625 million from the Jaguars.
The deal does not include the original concept of the community benefits agreement sought by the Donna Deegan administration, with that condition struck by the City Council and some elements held in abeyance until consideration of the proposed budget from the Mayor's Office, which will be introduced next month.
Still, the reconstituted deal allocates an additional $56 million in city money (beyond the $775 million) for riverfront parks and improvements on the flex field, which abuts the stadium. The Jaguars will contribute $119 million over 30 years for community benefits.
Mayor Deegan thanked the Council for getting the deal through on this "aggressive schedule," particularly over the last month, even as she said she wanted the rest of the CBA to be approved ultimately.
"We can reach historic, generational process when we focus and work together for a singular goal, together," Deegan said.
The agreement comes one day after Charlotte agreed to $650 million for its own stadium renovation for the Panthers, a team that joined the NFL in 1995 just like Jacksonville's squad. But whereas the Panthers' owner will only contribute $150 million personally, the Jaguars will mostly match the city contribution, with the exception of $150 million in deferred maintenance that the team and the city agreed was the taxpayers' responsibility.
Council members explained their votes.
Republican Ken Amaro said he'd gotten emails to vote "no," but said the bill represented a chance for this to be a "legacy" City Council, and that the Council auditors vouched for the numbers.
Democrat Jimmy Peluso said there was "no way he was voting 'no' on the bill" and said he wanted to be on the Council Special Committee to find a way to bring in community benefits later this year. He specifically wants a commitment to earmark money for the Eastside, and the Jaguars said that $75 million would be allocated to the long-suffering neighborhood near the stadium.
"Our commitment to the Eastside remains unchanged," Jaguars President Mark Lamping contended.
"We are the envy of the sports community today," said President Ron Salem, alluding to difficulties with stadium negotiations in other cities that never manifested in Jacksonville's process.
"We scored a touchdown," Salem added.
One lone legislator opposed the stadium scheme, however.
Republican Mike Gay, who had recused his contracting company from participating in the project, expressed concerns about the "future finances of the city," painting the deal as lopsided in the favor of the Jaguars and suggesting that funding it through the Better Jacksonville Plan 1/2 cent sales tax ran contrary to what taxpayers authorized when they voted for that referendum a quarter-century ago
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