JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jaguars "Stadium of the Future" is the largest building project in Jacksonville's history, but is the $1.4 billion project in danger of being voted down by Jacksonville's City Council?
Currently city council members continue to review the updated Jaguars stadium lease that was submitted by the team and the Mayor's Office. A key element of the lease agreement could determine if the agreement is approved by city council.
It's called the Community Benefits Agreement and it's a $300 million plan split evenly between the city and the Jaguars, which is meant to improve different parts of the city. Most of the improvements are parks near the stadium and involve development on the Eastside. Ron Salem, the President of Jacksonville City Council, wants it out of the lease when council votes on the stadium agreement later this month.
Beyond the shiny glass roof, part of the Jaguars stadium renovations call for public money to be used for the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA), which would complete funding for parks like Met Park, build a museum next to the USS Orleck and fund development on the Eastside, which is an urban core neighborhood directly north of the Jaguars stadium.
"I think the Community Benefits Agreement is very important, my difference with the mayor's office is when we review it and vote on it," said City Council President Ron Salem, who added that the CBA should be taken out of the Jaguars lease and reviewed separately during the city's budget review process in July.
"There's a lot of expenses coming up and it appears like we'll have a $100 million less in revenue next year than we have this year," said Salem. "My concern is that we put all these things on the table, determine what the priorities are and fund them."
During an event on Wednesday unrelated to the stadium, Mayor Donna Deegan said she wants the CBA included with the entire agreement and said the CBA will benefit the entire city.
"What makes this an impact player is that we can see these programs immediately with real money and then sustaining money over 30 years and that's what makes this something that can really create impact for downtown and the entire city," said Deegan.
Salem said protecting taxpayer money for the entire city is important to him; part of the CBA calls for turning the Eastside into a Community redevelopment area. There are 4 community redevelopment areas in Jacksonville, you can read more about them on the city's website by clicking here.
"My concern is that if we create one, why not have 14 of them," said Salem, "one in each district, I think that's a bad precedent for the city. I would move to strip that out in an amendment if we couldn't move the whole CBA out."
City Council is scheduled to meet 6 more times regarding the Stadium of the Future project, including their meeting Thursday morning at 10am.
Council is expected to vote on the lease agreement during their June 25 meeting.