Jaguars' Facility Upgrades Are the Next Franchise Game-Changer

The Miller Electric Center will be a key piece to the Jaguars' future.

The Jacksonville Jaguars had a potentially game-changing day on Tuesday.

The opening of the Miller Electric Center marked a day of celebration for the Jaguars' present and their future. The newly built football facility is a $120 million investment between the city of Jacksonville and the Jaguars, giving the Jaguars a first-class facility fitted with upgrades to the locker room, treatment facilities, weight rooms, meeting rooms, and much more. 

Walking the halls of the new football facility and taking in the added practice and meeting spaces made the Jaguars' onsite facilities feel, for once, like a destination. It felt like a major leap made by the Jaguars in terms of what they can offer players. 

With the heavy investment to producing a winning on-field product, the Jaguars turned one of the NFL's lower-end football facilities into a place players, coaches, football staffers, and much, much more will want to call home. 

"All I gotta say is wow. You know, we stood over here in this parking lot about 18 months ago when we broke ground on this place. And the vision then, you know, obviously is the vision you see behind us. The dream has come true," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said on Tuesday. 

"I know for so many years we are in this building over here to my left and your right. And to open the Miller Electric Center today officially, just bringing smiles and joys to all the employees that walk into this building. And I'm speaking from a football guy.

The levels to which the Jaguars' upgraded facilities will help improve the roster and overall football operations are immeasurable at this point. Pederson said this offseason that one major plus of the newly-built facilities is the fact that players will have a destination they will want to be at year-round, no matter the time in the offseason. 

This was evidenced by the Jaguars having three of their starting offensive linemen from last year's playoff games -- tackle Walker Little, guard Tyler Shatley and center Luke Fortner -- being seen working out in the Jaguars' weight-room on Tuesday. Training camp is still a week away, but the Jaguars now have a facility where players would rather be than in other locations. 

"When we walk in this thing every single day, it brings pride, it brings joy, it brings fulfillment," Pederson said. 

"But I understand that our job is not finished, it's just begun. What we started last year as a football team is only going to continue and get better. I can't wait to see our players this Friday and next Tuesday when they report to walk into this building. Some have already seen it. And just to see the smile on their faces to have a beautiful practice field out here to host training camp and many other events. I'm just so excited for that as the football coach here."

The Jaguars have made big investments on and off the field in recent years. Some, like Trevor Lawrence and Pederson, have been game-changers. The Miller Electric Center now has the potential to do the same thing for years to come.