JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jaguars and Mayor Donna Deegan have reached a deal for renovations of the stadium, City Council President Ron Salem announced Wednesday.
"The mayor reached out to me late yesterday afternoon to inform me that the executive branch and the Jaguars have reached an agreement on the stadium renovation," Salem said at the beginning of a joint meeting with the Duval County School Board Wednesday morning.
The mayor's office did not immediately respond to questions about whether a deal had been reached.
The mayor’s office and consultants have led the city’s negotiations since August and will present the proposed agreement to council at the next regular meeting on Tuesday.
Salem did not comment on what share the city could carry of the potential $1.4 billion renovation.
City Council will have to approve the deal over the next few months. The Jaguars, according to previous Times-Union reporting, hope to have a deal finalized by early summer in order to take it to the NFL owners meeting in October.
The city will host a series of public meetings to discuss the deal, much like the Jaguars “huddles” last year.
The current lease for the Jaguars to use city-owned EverBank Stadium goes through the 2029 season. A major piece of the stadium renovation involves negotiations for a new 30-year lease.
The talks also have involved whether the Jaguars would play home games away from Jacksonville during the 2026 and 2027 seasons or just the 2027 season because of the extensive construction.
Deegan has said a key area for her is what the “community benefit” portion of the agreement would be for the Jaguars to support neighborhood improvement programs, such as in the Eastside neighborhood that is located near the sports complex.
When asked about the reported agreement between Mayor Deegan and the Jaguars the Jacksonville Jaguars released the following statement to First Coast News:
"The Jaguars are pleased with the process and progress on a stadium agreement with the City of Jacksonville. While we are optimistic that we will soon finalize a deal that equally serves the team, community and all who will use the stadium, there is still work to do. The Jaguars and Mayor Donna Deegan have the same goal – a stadium agreement that will earn the approval of the City Council, the National Football League office and, ultimately, NFL owners. In that spirit, we continue to meet and look forward to joining Mayor Deegan and lead negotiator Mike Weinstein on Tuesday to jointly present to the Jacksonville City Council the structure of the stadium agreement between the Jaguars and City of Jacksonville."