JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Local leaders are funny too! In a day of celebration for the City of Jacksonville and the Jaguars after striking a $1.4 billion stadium deal, everyone was in good spirits Thursday.
That teed up some quotable moments from an afternoon of press conferences.
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“Everyone wants to doubt Jacksonville. As of last night, that should no longer be the case. People can move on with other stuff. Not a good day for the doubting Thomases.” - Shad Khan, Jacksonville Jaguars Owner
You hear that, people? Khan may not be a fan of keeping receipts, but he sure did cash the comments into the newest state-of-the-art NFL stadium. No more talks of the team moving across the pond or out of the city, the Jaguars are DTWD (Duval ‘Til We Die).
“I’m keeping receipts!” - Donna Deegan, Mayor Of Jacksonville
The Mayor has no problem storing comments away. She said she hears all the remarks about Jacksonville having this inferiority complex and hopes this the evidence of the stadium deal agreement proves them wrong.
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“It’s important we don’t waste the city’s money, and quite frankly we are not wasting my money.” - Shad Khan, Jaguars Owner
Fair. If I’m going to invest millions of dollars into something, it better be the most cost-effective investment on my resume. The Jaguars owner said his goal for the stadium is not only for the stadium to be state of the art but also be sustainable for the long haul and bring elite economic growth.
He went on to explain how they don’t plan on starting from scratch. They hope to be environmentally friendly by reusing what they can, including the scoreboards, and the bowl, which is in perfect condition. He wants to keep it cool without the use of air conditioning by using what he calls predictable winds in Jacksonville.
Later in his explanation, he said, “... a lot of times the best decisions are when you are limited with time and money, the worst are when you have unlimited time and money ... if anything it’s [the stadium] gonna show how you can achieve a lot with very little.” Khan hopes to get the best bang for the buck for not only himself but for the city of Jacksonville as well.
RELATED: ‘It’s been long overdue:’ Downtown Jacksonville business owners weigh in on Stadium of the Future
“Well we have to build a stadium and get it done by 2028, and keep it at $1.4 billion.”- Mark Lamping, Jaguars President
While getting the deal done was a huge milestone for the stadium of the future, Lamping was asked what are some of the things he will face moving forward. Well, it may just be the next biggest hurdle, turning the renderings into reality and doing it on time, and as we just went over with Khan, on budget.
“I’ve been in architecture all my life ... I even was in architecture school my freshman year, until I found out what they make and then I switched to engineering.” - Shad Khan
I would say that was a smart $12 billion decision by one of Forbes’ Richest Americans.
RELATED: Jaguars owner and Jacksonville Mayor speak on $1.4B stadium deal
In an off-camera interview with local sports media, Shad Khan had to answer some of the “tougher” questions.
“A ham sandwich can sue you, OK?”
It has been a tough year on the legal side for Khan. Last December a former employee was accused of stealing more than $22 million from the Jags. Then in the offseason, a lawsuit came out against former Jaguars Kicker Brandon McManus accusing him of sexually assaulting two flight attendants on the team flight to London.
A reporter made a statement following Khan’s comments on the new kicker where he was praising his attitude and kinematics. That’s when the reporter said, “and he’s not gonna sue you.”
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“‘Mr. Khan you can’t be laughing or smiling, you are the concerned father.’ After I listened to her for 30 seconds I was like, ‘OK I got it.’”
Khan is adding more experience to his acting career. He was asked about appearing on AEW after his son Tony Khan was the victim of a pile driver where he “hurt his neck” on the eve of the NFL Draft. Tony was then seen wearing a neck brace in the draft room. Shad was asked if he signed off on the idea and he said, “I didn’t sign off ... I had no idea. Tony said, ‘we are doing this, and blah blah it would be really cool if you can come out. I said OK.’”
Khan was also asked if he was going to get credit on IMDB. His response was, “I’m applying for the union card.”
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“But the yacht is really cool.”
Khan has had a really successful offseason. With the stadium deal moving forward, quarterback Trevor Lawrence and linebacker Josh Allen signing contract extensions, AEW and Fulham on the upswing, and oh yeah, his 400-foot yacht being completed. The new and improved KISMET is 40 feet longer than a football field and nearly 100 feet longer than his old superyacht. But what gets Khan really excited, is the engineering. “Volume wise, that [his first boat] would be about 1/10 the size of this new boat, here’s the cool part, that burnt more gas than this boat does. How is that possible? ... hybrid battery with multiple points of introducing power. That’s the bottom line, it’s all electric when it can be.”
In order to charge his Superyacht, it does come equipped with diesel generators which have net results with 10x less residue. So yeah, the Superyacht is REALLY cool.
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