Daytona International Speedway President Makes Case to Host Future Jaguars Games

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a lot of things they need to sort out when it comes to the future of their stadium. First, they have to get the proposed stadium renovations approved, a process that will likely take many months.

But if, or when, the renovations are approved, the Jaguars will have to figure out exactly how the renovations will impact their regular-season play. The Jaguars could continue to play in the stadium during renovations, which would stretch the duration of the project. Or they could find a temporary home, such as potentially the Daytona International Speedway.

Speaking with Jared Oliver of WFTV in Orlando, Daytona International Speedway President Frank Kelleher made his case for why the Jaguars should consider his venue over others in the state.

I spoke to Daytona International Speedway President @frank_kelleher about the possibility of the Jacksonville Jaguars playing their home games at the 2.5-mile track during the team's stadium renovations in the future: @NASCAR @NFL #jaguars pic.twitter.com/sXZIvFT4fy
— Jared Oliver (@oliver_jared) July 6, 2023

"We are in conversations with the Jacksonville Jaguars on potentially being their home for the 26 and 27 season. Those conversations are real," Kelleher said.

"They are in conversations with many other great venues and facilities in the state of Florida. I'm a bit biased, I think that we have a venue that the others don't hold the candle to, as well as what we offer from overnight camping, our ability to host music and host festivals while other big events are going on. I think you kind of put all of that in a blender and I think we'd make a great home for the Jags."

Don Muret of VenuesNow first reported officials from the racetrack were set to meet with Jaguars officials to discuss a potential plan to host Jaguars home games -- a report that Jaguars president Mark Lamping has since confirmed.

“They have had football down there,” Lamping told SI's Albert Breer. “The University of Tennessee played at Bristol [Motor Speedway]. And keep in mind, that facility is probably the closest of those three facilities to Jacksonville. From where I live, it’s 60 miles down to Daytona. And they’re used to handling crowds of over 100,000. So the traffic and the parking and all of that, they handle in a major way twice a year with their two NASCAR races."

Other potential sites for the Jaguars in the event they are forced out of their home stadium due to construction include in Gainesville, Orlando, or a current non-NFL site in Jacksonville.

"The most efficient and the cheapest route is to do it over two years and go to a stadium that you don't have to add a lot to, which would either be Florida Field [in Gainesville] or Camping World," Jaguars president Mark Lamping said last week, per ESPN. "We've had conversations with both. We've given them the specs and I think it's fair to say that both would be interested, assuming that the schedules would work."

Jaguars officials expect the proposed stadium renovations to take two years if the Jaguars play outside of their home stadium. If the Jaguars continue to play at home, the project would take four years.

The potential $2 billion project would require an investment of 50% from Jaguars owner Shad Khan and 50% from the City of Jacksonville. Along with the stadium, areas around the site will also be developed. The Jaguars' current stadium lease ends after the 2029 season.