Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan on Jaguars Renovation Deal: 'We Both Really Want to Get to Yes'

While the Jacksonville Jaguars are gearing up for one of the most anticipated seasons in franchise history, there are games set to be won off the field as well.

The biggest of those is the future of the Jaguars' stadium. The Jaguars are set to propose a plan to the City of Jacksonville on a potential multi-billion deal to renovate TIAA Bank Field.

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.

Asked by Action News Jax's Jake Stofan about that potential 50/50 split between the city and the Jaguars, incoming Mayor-Elect Donna Deegan said she and her team have already had early talks with the Jaguars.

I asked Mayor-Elect @DonnaDeegan about the 50/50 public-private split for @Jaguars stadium renovations and a new entertainment district. She also declined to negotiate from the podium, but added, "We both really want to get to yes". pic.twitter.com/J0O4NOby26
— Jake Stofan (@JakeStofan) June 14, 2023

“I have had, already, a number of conversations with Shad Khan and with Mark Lamping, "Deegan said. "We’ve had good conversations, but look, I’m not even in office yet. These negotiations have not yet begun."

“I know that a lot of people are already casting this and looking at this as an adversarial situation. And I understand any time you have negotiations, you’re going to see that sort of thing."

When the Jaguars announced their plans for the Stadium of the Future, they also announced that they would be holding several community huddles to gauge the public interest and opinion on the historic potential deal.

"Over the next two weeks, the Jaguars will play host to a series of Huddle Up Jax events where residents and fans can learn more about the Stadium of the Future designs," the Jaguars said in a release about the stadium. "[President] Mark Lamping will be on site at the community huddles, which will be strategically located around town to ensure access for all of Duval County."

Deegan expressed optimism for a potential deal with the Jaguars, noting that their meetings with the public is an important step in transparency and partnership, and also noting that, to her, both sides want to get to an agreement.

"But I want you to understand that these huddles that the Jaguars are having right now, that was something that I asked them to do when I met with Mr. Khan months and months ago. I think it’s incredibly important to take what their plans are, put those plans in front of the public, and here are the concerns of the public firsthand," she said.

"And I give them a lot of credit for setting up 22 of those. So I don’t have any problem with the fact that those are happening. And I’m actually very appreciative of the fact that they included that in the process. So I’m looking forward to a very productive negotiation season. I think that, frankly, we both really want to get to yes. That will be a process that will certainly be a process, but I think it’s going to be fine.”