The city of Jacksonville received four bids on a contract to provide city negotiators with expertise in planning and preconstruction issues involved in a proposed makeover of EverBank Stadium for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Bids were unsealed Jan. 10 from Gilbane, a Rhode Island-based construction management company with offices in Jacksonville; CES Consultants Inc., a Florida-based engineering firm that also has offices in Jacksonville; Jacksonville-based McCall Construction Management; and Legends Project Development, an international project management company with offices in the U.S. and Europe.
The bids were identified by name only, and no details were offered. The bids were not made available for review after they were opened.
The bids now will be scored, and a contract will be negotiated.
The winning firm will work with the negotiating team led by Mike Weinstein, Mayor Donna Deegan’s special counsel, and Chicago-based law firm Sidley Austin, whose work on stadium deals includes representing the state of New York in negotiations with the Buffalo Bills and with the Washington Commanders in talks with Washington, D.C.
As stated in the city’s request for bids, services include aiding the city’s negotiating team in reviewing construction estimates, preparing budgets and analyzing the integrity and durability of the stadium’s infrastructure.
A key element will be helping to determine the exact construction costs for the stadium and a companion dining and entertainment district, which were roughly estimated by the Jaguars at $1.75 billion to $2 billion when the conceptual plans for the stadium project were unveiled in June.
The team is seeking a 50-50 split on paying for its proposed “Stadium of the Future” and adjacent complex, with city taxpayers picking up half of the costs.
The new stadium, as envisioned in the conceptual plans, would include a see-through shading structure protecting all seating areas from direct sunlight and inclement weather, wraparound concourses four times wider than the current ones at EverBank Stadium, and lookout platforms with views of the Downtown skyline and St. Johns River.
The original deadline for the bidding was Dec. 20, but was extended after the city reported that firms requested more time to prepare their bids.
Jacksonville Jaguars LLC has posted public notices that it intends to negotiate contracts with top-ranked respondents to requests for proposals for services that include environmental site assessment, surveying, architect of record, geotechnical, preconstruction, and project management. It also posted RFPs for other services such as insurance and cost-estimating.
The invitations to bid stated that all aspects of the project are subject to an agreement on a lease amendment between the Jaguars and the city.