JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Stadium of the Future talks are still on track, according to Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan's lead negotiator; however, there have been discussions of using money from the city's two pension funds to pay for the renovations.
The Stadium of the Future project comes with a $2 billion price tag which would be shared between the City of Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The mayor's office has been in negotiations with the Jags for months now trying to come up with an agreement that benefits both sides.
Lead negotiator and counsel for the Mayor's office, Mike Weinstein, said they are looking for creative ways to pay for the renovations.
"It's our responsibility to look at any possible mechanism to meet our obligation. We got to do what's best for the city," Weinstein said.
One of those ideas is using money from the Police and Fire Pension Fund and the General Employee Pension Fund. Weinstein said the funds have a combined total of $5 billion in assets right now. Instead of investing money in other places, like the stock market or real estate, the pension funds would invest in the city.
“If the pension fund basically provided dollars as an investment to the city, the city would pay back the pension fund, and the interest that their target was,” Weinstein explained.
Weinstein said this would keep the money local since the city owns the pension funds. The city would pay back the money at a rate that meets the pension funds' targets. This would also skip the usual fees associated with borrowing money elsewhere. Weinstein added it could help the city close the pension funds quicker, which could mean an earlier end to the half penny sales tax that was extended to cover the pension deficit.
"Our ultimate goal is to get the pension fund closed as quickly as possible. So even if it costs us a little bit more money to pay them rather than pay a bondholder, we'd be paying ourselves," Weinstein said.
While this idea is still in the very early stages of discussions, City Council President Ron Salem weighed in. He said he needs to see how it benefits the city compared to other payment options.
“The response I've gotten initially from some people is they're concerned about dipping into the pension funds. I need to understand the costs, the cost difference between the bonding versus using the pension funds," Salem said.
The Jacksonville Fraternal Order of Police and the Jacksonville Association of Fire Fighters declined to comment on this idea right now, but representatives told First Coast News they are watching this closely.
Weinstein said if this idea does become part of the deal, both the city and the pension boards would have the opportunity to 'call,' or cancel it.
"If the pension fund years down the road, if we did this, felt that they didn't want it to be this way any longer, they can call and we'd have to give them their money back. And then we'd go to the bondholders in the financial market to get the money," Weinstein said.
Weinstein added the pension boards would also have a say on whether they approve of this payment method before it even gets off the ground.
No formal agreement has been reached between the Mayor's office and the Jags yet on the overall project. Once that is finalized, it will go before the city council. Weinstein said they still hope to be in front of city council by Summer 2024.