Taxpayers put up about 60% of cost for new stadiums
The Buffalo deal for a new stadium had a projected cost of $1.4 billion when it was finalized. The state of New York put up $600 million and Erie County committed $250 million for a total taxpayer share of nearly 61% of the cost. The cost has risen to $1.54 billion and the team’s ownership is solely responsible for covering that added expense.
The Titans agreement also centers on a new $2.1 billion stadium deal. The state will pay $500 million and the Metropolitan Sports Authority in Nashville will pay $760 million, so the government’s share will be 60% of the cost.
A big difference for Jacksonville is the state of Florida will not be paying anything toward the stadium deal, a position that’s consistent with how the state takes a hands-off approach on stadium subsidies across Florida.
“We’re on our own,” Weinstein said. The Jaguars proposed last summer a 50-50 split on a potential $2 billion deal that would have renovated the stadium and also built a mixed-use development that could have included apartments, retail, restaurants and entertainment venues on city-owned land next to the stadium. The proposal for the district beside the stadium won’t be part of what comes out of the ongoing negotiations, however.
“We discussed the possibility of adjacent land around the stadium, but it was put aside and we only focused on the stadium from that point on,” Weinstein said. “But the mayor is interested in looking at developing the land in an appropriate fashion sooner rather than later.”
The stadium renovation, which will completely overhaul the venue with a large amount of new construction, has had a projected cost of $1.4 billion. A year ago, the Jaguars summarized an example of how stadium renovations could cost $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion and the city would pick up 67% of the tab, or a range of $800 million to $934 million for taxpayers. But neither the Jaguars nor the city has said publicly since negotiations began what the cost-share for the stadium would be.
Jacksonville is a small-market city compared to the rest of the NFL so that affects how much the team can generate in local revenue from tickets sales and sponsorships. Jacksonville likewise has a smaller tax base than other cities that are home to NFL teams.
“The goal is to make it fair to both and make it financially manageable for both,” Weinstein said.
Non-relocation agreement would be part of Jacksonville deal
In return for large payments of taxpayer dollars, professional sports franchises have sought to prevent teams from moving out during the lease. Weinstein said the non-relocation agreement is an important piece of the Jacksonville negotiations.
“All the other teams have done those, and we’ll do one with the Jaguars here,” he said.
The non-relocation agreement in Buffalo says the Bills would have to repay 100% of taxpayer investments in the new stadium if the team defaults on the agreement in the first 14 years of the lease. Those damages decrease 6.25% per year for the remainder of the 30-year agreement. The Titans would have to repay the full amount to taxpayers for a default in the first 10 years of the lease, an amount of damages that would then go down by 5% each year for the rest of the lease.
The liquidated damages would be a backstop amount because the agreements say the governments can sue to stop a move.
Both agreements allow the teams to play one home game per year elsewhere if it’s part of a “league-wide” program. That would let the teams to play a home game overseas in London and other cities as part of the NFL International Series. The Jaguars have played 10 of their “home games” in London since 2013, the most active team in the NFL for that series.
While the deals for the Bills and Titans have many similar features, they part ways on what taxpayers are responsible for after the stadiums are built — an expense that isn’t as big as the initial construction but can add up over a 30-year period.
New York State will put up $280 million over 30 years for maintenance and operations cost of the Buffalo stadium. Erie County will put a 6% charge on parking, ticketing, and concession sales at the stadium that will go toward stadium repairs and maintenance.
In Nashville, the Titans will be responsible for all operations and maintenance costs, removing that expense from Nashville taxpayers.
Deegan focuses on community benefits agreement
The Titans and the Bills agreed to long-term community improvement programs, which Deegan has said will be , “exceptionally important” for a Jacksonville deal. She has said it should help neighborhood development in the Eastside neighborhood across the Mathews Bridge expressway from the sports complex.
The Titans agreed to give about $48 million during the span of the lease in support of the Nashville Needs Impact Fund directed by the Metro Council for public education, public transit, affordable housing and other needs identified by the city.
The Bills agreed to spend around $100 million over the course of its 30year lease for its community benefits agreement. The annual payments will be at least $3 million. An oversight committee whose members are appointed by the county, state and the Bills will identify priorities for that spending.
Weinstein said if negotiations are successful, Deegan will bring a package of seven or more separate agreements to City Council “hopefully in May” on different areas such as the renovation of the stadium, community benefits, parking, non-relocation and the lease. He said the city also wants to get the Daily’s Place amphitheater and the Miller Electric Center on the same 30-year term as the stadium.
“It’s quite complicated,” he said. “It’s probably 500 pages all told when all of them are together.”
The Jaguars current lease goes through the 2029 football season. The city and the team have been working on a timetable for construction to start in 2026 and be finished in time for the 2028 season.
That would follow on the heels of the Bills opening a new stadium in 2026 followed by the Titans in 2027.
In Jacksonville, the start of construction in 2026 might not force the team to play home games elsewhere but the stadium would have reduced seating for about 45,000 fans. Weinstein said the talks continue on whether that scenario is workable for the construction schedule.
“That’s what we’re trying for and it probably will be that, but it’s not definite,” Weinstein said. “It’s a construction question, but that’s the goal.”
The stadium would be off-limits to Jaguars games in 2027 so the team would need to find another place to play its home games that season.