"Jags Spending Says They're Staying Put" (1 Viewer)

[JaxBill]

Paul Kuharich on today's announcement that the Jaguars and the City of Jacksonville have reached an agreement for 63 Million in stadium improvements.

The Jaguars announced an agreement with the city of Jacksonville on Wednesday for $63 million worth of enhancements to EverBank Field. It is a flashing signal that says the team is not leaving town anytime soon.

Two new end zone video boards will be the largest of their kind in the world and will be ready for the 2014 preseason. A new north end zone area will make the building feel a lot more like Florida.

The breakdown of how it will be paid for:

• Jacksonville will fund the total estimated $36.4 million from capital project funding to build a north end zone fan engagement area as well as the necessary infrastructure and control room to support the video scoreboards at both ends of the stadium.
• The Jaguars will fund 75 percent of the estimated $26.5 million for the new video scoreboards, with Jacksonville funding the remaining 25 percent from capital project funding.
• The Jaguars will serve as construction manager with responsibilities for any cost overruns.
• Any project savings will be earmarked for additional improvements at EverBank Field.

http://espn.go.com/blog/afcsouth/post/_/id/50937/jags-spending-says-theyre-going-nowhere

Press Conference highlights-

The enhancements are expected to be completed by the start of the 2014 preseason. They are improvements that will include two state-of-the-art end zone scoreboards, and what the team called “world-class” entertainment and viewing areas in each end zone.

The Jaguars will invest $20 million in the project, and Khan made it clear:

It’s an investment in the city, the Northeast Florida area, and in the team’s relationship with the community.

“Actions speak louder than words,” Khan said, adding that the enhancements help stabilize and strengthen the Jaguars while making the city a destination for college football and other major sports and entertainment and events.

“The headline here today is the one I shared with you in February: that the Jacksonville Jaguars will be proud, bold committed...” Khan added. “In February, those were words. Today, it’s action.”

Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown agreed.

“Today is a great example of the leadership and commitment of the Jaguars organization to Jacksonville,” Brown said, thanking Khan for his dedication and vision to Jacksonville.

Khan said the commitment also spoke volumes about Brown’s leadership and his commitment to revitalize downtown and the city’s urban core.

Khan, speaking immediately after the announcement, linked the Jaguars’ $20 million investment in the renovations with $10 million already invested since he bought the team in December 2011 in state-of-the-art locker room and training facilities.

“We have to show leadership, and really, it starts with investing and vision,” Khan said.

Lamping said 100 percent of cost overruns will be the responsibility of the Jaguars, and that any savings under the projected cost will be invested in EverBank Field.

http://www.jaguars.com/news/article-JaguarsNews/Khan-Actions-speak-louder-than-words/aaacb30a-eb61-40d4-9006-fa2ebf82b652

 

[PlasmaDogPlasma]

So all the "moving to London" stories were really just to scare some money out of the city?

 

[JaxBill]

So all the "moving to London" stories were really just to scare some money out of the city?

Or they were started by a hack Jets beat reporter to sell papers.

 

[cstu]

The Jags aren't moving soon but there's nothing stopping them from leaving in the long-term. The cost of getting out of the stadium deal is less than what the naming rights would be on a new stadium.

If Khan wants to keep the Jags in Jacksonville he will, but it won't be because it's too expensive to move.

 

[JaxBill]

The Jags aren't moving soon but there's nothing stopping them from leaving in the long-term. The cost of getting out of the stadium deal is less than what the naming rights would be on a new stadium.

If Khan wants to keep the Jags in Jacksonville he will, but it won't be because it's too expensive to move.

This is what a lot of people and a lot of the national media don't get.

It's bigger than just the Jaguars for Khan.

He has a large business presence here. He's investing in the city. He wants to buy the massive waterfront Shipyards parcel and develop it. He has invested in historic downtown buildings.

Afterward, Khan fielded questions on his other investments in Jacksonville. He’s talking with the city about developing the Shipyards, the vacant waterfront site in Downtown Jacksonville. There haven’t been many details on his plans, but Khan said Wednesday he sees the site as a “gateway, a front door.”

“You leave Downtown before you get to the sports complex. It should be a venue that really draws people, a destination you want to go to,” he said. “So the development of that is ripe, and it’s been sitting there for a long time, and if somebody wants to step up, God bless them. But I think they’re not going to do something, maybe we can help.”

I asked Khan if the potential development would have a Jaguars theme.

“It just cannot be sports. I think you can use the power of the Jaguars, the NFL to bring people,” he said. “After that it has to be a lot more than that. It has to be residential, it has to be commercial, but what it’s got going for it, is obviously, a great water location. I think it’s going to work beautifully.”

In late March, Khan provided a mortgage to a Jacksonville-based development group for the $3 million acquisition of the Laura Street Trio and Barnett Bank Building in Downtown Jacksonville.

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/blog/2013/06/jaguars-khan-says-sports-could-be.html

Sure, if the Jags continue to be bottom-dwellers and attendance starts to lag, he could relocate, especially as EverBank field ages.

But it isn't just about getting the most money out of a stadium deal.

 

[RUSF18]

The Jags aren't moving soon but there's nothing stopping them from leaving in the long-term. The cost of getting out of the stadium deal is less than what the naming rights would be on a new stadium.

If Khan wants to keep the Jags in Jacksonville he will, but it won't be because it's too expensive to move.

This is what a lot of people and a lot of the national media don't get.

It's bigger than just the Jaguars for Khan.

He has a large business presence here. He's investing in the city. He wants to buy the massive waterfront Shipyards parcel and develop it. He has invested in historic downtown buildings.

Afterward, Khan fielded questions on his other investments in Jacksonville. He’s talking with the city about developing the Shipyards, the vacant waterfront site in Downtown Jacksonville. There haven’t been many details on his plans, but Khan said Wednesday he sees the site as a “gateway, a front door.”

“You leave Downtown before you get to the sports complex. It should be a venue that really draws people, a destination you want to go to,” he said. “So the development of that is ripe, and it’s been sitting there for a long time, and if somebody wants to step up, God bless them. But I think they’re not going to do something, maybe we can help.”

I asked Khan if the potential development would have a Jaguars theme.

“It just cannot be sports. I think you can use the power of the Jaguars, the NFL to bring people,” he said. “After that it has to be a lot more than that. It has to be residential, it has to be commercial, but what it’s got going for it, is obviously, a great water location. I think it’s going to work beautifully.”

In late March, Khan provided a mortgage to a Jacksonville-based development group for the $3 million acquisition of the Laura Street Trio and Barnett Bank Building in Downtown Jacksonville.

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/blog/2013/06/jaguars-khan-says-sports-could-be.html

Sure, if the Jags continue to be bottom-dwellers and attendance starts to lag, he could relocate, especially as EverBank field ages.

But it isn't just about getting the most money out of a stadium deal.

This is what Bruce Ratner tried to do when he first bought the NJ Nets and wanted to move them to Brooklyn. The team and their new stadium was just a small piece of the enormous development that he wanted to do. Then a lot of legal issues popped up with the people who lived in the area, and the recession hit, and he ended up scrapping his plans and selling to the big Russian.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

So all the "moving to London" stories were really just to scare some money out of the city?

So really London is in competition with Los Angeles (to be the number one team mentioned when teams hijack cities for funding).