JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Action News Jax talked to Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan and Jaguars team owner Shad Khan, following the city council approving the historic $1.4 billion stadium renovation deal.
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After years of speculation about the team’s future, including whether Khan would move the Jaguars to a new city altogether, the stadium deal includes a clause to keep the team in the River City for at least 30 years.
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Khan offered this message to those who doubted his commitment to Jacksonville. “Pay attention to what I say and judge people by their actions, not just the words, Khan said. Action News Jax Anchor Tenikka Hughes asked Khan what the kind of expectations the deal puts on the team. Khan replied, ‘To win. That’s what it does.”
In addition to driving the team forward, Khan and Deegan said closing the stadium deal positions the “Bold City” for the future like never before.
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Deegan said, “You’ve got the stadium, you’ve got what we’re doing with the riverfront. All those things are gonna signal to developers that Jacksonville is open for business and we want you to come.” Khan said, “These things are happening. You wanna be part of it.”
Getting the deal across the finish line, meant major changes to the city’s $150 million dollar share of community benefits agreement in the overall deal.
A total of $56 million for parks remained intact, but council plans to consider the remaining $94 million in separate legislation next month.
That chunk of money includes funds for the Eastside, programs to tackle homelessness, and workforce development.
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Mayor Deegan says she’s committed to making sure those items aren’t left off the table and discussed her next target.
Deegan said, “This is an opportunity to do something major, not only for this beautiful stadium, which is going to be such an ignition for us to build around it in a way that that will really be a benefit to everybody.” The mayor added, “We needed that stadium done. So I think that’s the next, in terms of this piece, I think the next thing beyond getting that riverfront done is making sure that we’re, we’re really focusing on creating that entertainment experience around the stadium that we need.”
Khan agreed saying, “We need to invest in the city and we count on our elected officials to kind of show the way and lead the way. You know, the power of football is about uniting the community, you know, the rich, the poor, and so on and to really to really raise the whole city up.”
RELATED: Jaguars Stadium deal framework finalized, residents concerned of impact to historic neighborhoods
As for what’s ahead for the team, Action News Jax reported the 2027 season will likely be played out of town during construction, in either Orlando or Gainesville. Khan said he will turn his focus to making that decision now that the stadium deal with the city is official. Khan acknowledged the temporary move will come with challenges, including for employees who work at the bank during the season. But he hopes to minimize the impacts as much as possible.
Khan said, “I think it’s going to happen only one year, okay. So I mean, our goal is that there’s only one year we’re not going to be playing [in Jacksonville.] And regrettably that’s, you know, that’s part of some of the pain you go through with a big reward at the end.”
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