Jaguars To Unveil Plans for Developing Downtown Jacksonville on Thursday
The Jaguars are prepared to back to the drawing board when it comes to developing Downtown Jacksonville, announcing on Wednesday that the team would unveil updated plans for development in the city later this week.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan, president Mark Lamping and head coach Urban Meyer will speak at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday at TIAA Bank Field to "address the team’s ongoing commitment to downtown development." This will be the team's first updated plans for downtown development since the failed Lot J deal was voted down on Jan. 12.
It remains to be seen exactly what the Jaguars' new plans could entail, but it is worth noting that Meyer is set to speak considering former head coach Doug Marrone was not involved with that side of the organization.
Meyer has been strongly pushing for and hinting at the development of upgraded football facilities since the Jaguars hired him in January, a hire that became official just a few days following the Lot J vote.
"There’s one way that people who work for me, with me, they’ll hear a statement, it’s just the best of the best. If it’s not, then the question is why? That’s the same thing I’m doing every time I walk through everywhere," Meyer said at his introductory press conference in January.
"We did that at Ohio State. We did that at Florida. It’s just the very best. If it’s not, especially when you start talking about player welfare and safety and then just the players and if it’s not the very best, let’s have a chat and do what’s very best. The Jacksonville players are going to get pushed. In return, we give them the very best, that includes the coaching staff, number one the coaching staff. Does a big hot tub have that much of a difference? I didn’t say that, but I just want to make sure it’s the best of the best. Shad is very committed to that, as well as this organization. That’s something that it’s hard for me to answer right now, but I think within months you might see or hear things that we’re doing the very best we can for our players.”
Since then, there have been few updates on the Jaguars' plans to build facilities -- just reminders from Meyer on a frequent basis about the importance of the franchise investing back into its own roster.
While the Jaguars have yet to reveal plans for a football facility, the team has still made other upgrades to their organization in terms of what they are offering players off the field. Meyer has placed a key emphasis on sports performance as a way to improve speed and strength and potentially reduce injuries.
“It’s just on the performance side: dry needling, cupping, all the different therapies, activation stuff, equipment, that kind of stuff. We have a couple new facilities going up," Jaguars center and four-time offensive captain Brandon Linder said last week.
"And then the food, the food’s been better, nutrition, all these different shakes and whatnot. It’s just we have more at our hands now to succeed and to help us show our potential on the field, show our value. I don’t think [it’s being] pampered or special. I think we’re the ones on the field making this thing go. We have to give it back. We have to give it back when we’re on the field. That’s the whole thing, right? We’re getting everything we need, but when we step on that field, we have to exhaust all efforts.”
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Thursday's announcement will come nearly six months following the final Lot J vote. In January 2018, the Jaguars first introduced the idea of a new entertainment complex around the stadium, in a space labeled Lot J. The hope among supporters of the deal was that TIAA Bank Field's stadium and its surrounding area would be the centerpiece of a revitalized downtown, bringing hotels, office space, an entertainment complex, and housing with it.
The project would have seen the city borrow $208.3 million to fund the investment, which would have included a $65.5 million no-interest, 50-year breadbox loan from the city to the private development group. Ultimately, the city would have been on the hook for an investment of $233.3 million in the agreement, though the initial borrowing of more than $200 million.
Needing a two-thirds majority among the council’s 19 members, the deal got just 12 votes, subsequently killing the deal and moving the Jaguars onto other developmental projects.
