A newly released set of draft documents provides additional details about the proposed agreement between the city of Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Jaguars to transform EverBank Stadium into the “Stadium of the Future.”
On May 28, the city released drafts of the agreements that make up the overall stadium deal, which calls for the city and Jaguars to each contribute $625 million toward construction of the project.
The city would provide an additional $150 million for deferred maintenance and capital projects to prepare the stadium for renovation and make it usable by the team while construction is in progress.
Among the details:
• A nonrelocation agreement entitles the city to recover its contribution from the team as liquidated damages if the Jaguars move during the lease, provided the city first seeks equitable relief from a court.
The agreement allows the city to collect 100% of the public funding if the team moves during the first through 14th year of the lease. After that comes a sliding scale that decreases the repayment by 6.25% per year, reducing it to 93.75% in the 15th year down to 6.25% in the 29th year. A move in the final year of the lease would require no repayment. The agreement also allows the city to seek costs of demolishing the stadium from the team in the event of relocation.
• Under a 30-year lease, the team will pay the city a base rent of $1 million a year. That money will go into an operations, utilities and an events fund along with revenue from third-party events and surcharges on tickets and parking.
• The team controls naming rights and revenue, subject to city approval of the name.
• The Jaguars and city control broadcast rights for their respective events, with each keeping the revenue from its rights. The parties split revenue from broadcasting rights for third-party events.
• The team is responsible for managing operations including equipment, furnishings, repairs, replacement and maintenance of the stadium site. The city will pay the team a management fee amounting to a yet-to-be revealed percentage of the capital and operations budgets.
• The Jaguars will keep parking revenue related to team events, minus taxes and surcharges. Revenue from city events will be directed to the city, with the team and city splitting revenue from other events. The city is responsible for providing a minimum of 5,454 spaces for use by the team for its events, plus maintaining parking surfaces, signage and other parking-related infrastructure.
• The city will receive surcharges on tickets and parking, starting at no higher than $2.60 per ticket and $1.30 per parking pass. The city can increase those fees up to 4% annually.
• The city will be responsible for expenses related to public safety and emergency response, plus parking enforcement and towing.
The proposed deal between the city and team comprises seven separate agreements, including a community benefits agreement that calls for the two parties to each put up $150 million for workforce development, affordable housing and homeless services in the Eastside neighborhood and elsewhere in Duval County. It also puts aside funding for parks.
The city provided the drafts to the Daily Record in response to a public records request. Phillip Perry, the city’s chief communications officer, said in an email that the drafts remained subject to change.
The agreements must be approved by Jacksonville City Council for the public expenditure to occur.
During the May 28 Council meeting, President Ron Salem said he had set meetings beginning at 9 a.m. June 5 to receive presentations and begin examining documents. He said he hoped that finalized drafts of the agreements would be delivered to Council by then.
He said he expects to begin with a presentation by the city’s lead negotiator Mike Weinstein, and possibly members of Mayor Donna Deegan’s administration on a financial analysis of the proposed agreement and on the city’s proposed method of payment for its portion of the funding.