Jaguars owner Shad Khan said he looks forward to retiring the "stadium of the future" label in 2028 when a $1.4 billion renovation of EverBank Stadium will be finished in a deal Khan said proved doubters wrong about the city and team being able to keep the franchise in Jacksonville.
Sharing the stage with Mayor Donna Deegan, Khan saluted the original ownership group lead by Wayne Weaver and his wife Delores that landed Jacksonville the franchise 30 years ago. Behind them, a large screen showed a rendering of the new stadium design with "We Did It Again!" trumpeting the lease extension approved Tuesday by City Council that will keep the Jaguars playing in Jacksonville another 30 years.
"I love Jacksonville immensely and I especially love what's possible here," Khan said. "A lot has changed from the inaugural season for the Weavers in 1995 to my first year in 2012 right through to today as we prepare to celebrate the Jaguars 30th anniversary in the NFL. But there's been one constant throughout — everybody wants to doubt Jacksonville, and as of last night, that should no longer be the case."
"People can move on to other stuff, OK," Khan added. "Not a good day for the doubting Thomases."
The city will put up $775 million of the $1.4 billion for the stadium renovation. Khan will pay the rest and be responsible for any cost overruns on the stadium that among other changes will have a shade-delivering roof for protection from the sweltering heat in early season games.
Deegan noted that Khan's contribution to the stadium will be on top of his financial support for the ongoing construction of the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Jacksonville he is building on the riverfront a short walk from the stadium.
"The entire city is grateful for your belief in Jacksonville and the significant investments you're making in our community," she said. "A billion dollars so far, folks, no joke. Pretty impressive. I hope you all believe now."
She said Jacksonville "very often has had a bit of an inferiority complex" compared to other cities.
"Let's believe in ourselves," she said. "Shad believes in us. The Jaguars believe in us."
Khan brought his own architecture views to stadium design
The Jaguars have been represented by team President Mark Lamping during the series of City Council meetings that lead up to the 14-1 vote Tuesday night for the stadium legislation. Khan was not at that meeting but he was in Jacksonville and the event Wednesday at Miller Electric Center, the facility that contains practice fields and office space for the Jaguars, put his own stamp on the deal and the stadium renovation that's coming.
"My goal was that we want to have a stadium that is state of the art, that will be sustained for the long haul, be an icon for the city and lead to economic growth," he said.
Khan made his fortune in the auto parts manufacturing business but before majoring in engineering at the University of Illinois, he started as an architecture student and joked that after he saw what they make in salaries, he switched his major.
He said he's always been an architecture buff and as an NFL owner, it's been "kind of a nighttime hobby" for him to check out the design of other stadiums. He made Chicago one of his homes because of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright's influence on its buildings.
The Jacksonville stadium design won't be mistaken for the Prairie School of architecture, but the reflective material that will wrap a large part of the stadium does resemble "The Bean," a shiny orb of outdoor art in Chicago's Millennium Park.
"I was looking for shapes that are organic, that are unique, that inspire you and that'll be timeless," Khan said.
When Khan bought the team, extending the lease still was on the horizon because the current lease goes through the 2029 football season. Speculation swirled about the the Jaguars might move to another city such as Orlando, Los Angeles, St. Louis or even London.
Khan, who immigrated to the United States from Pakistan to go to college, said he's used to facing skeptics.
"I don't get any joy of proving people wrong," he said. "It was their opinion. They can reflect and move on, OK? Actions always speak louder than words. From day one, it's been judge us by our actions."
Deegan said she has felt some personal vindication in wake of the deal getting done.
I want to say that I, unlike Shad, like proving people wrong.
Mayor Donna Deegan
"I want to say that I, unlike Shad, like proving people wrong," she said. "I'd like to say I'm very petty in this process. Saved every article, every 'no way they're going to get this done.' Save them all. I'm relishing that, relishing that today. I don't know if there's anything more Duval than that."
Khan said stadium deal needed a public-private partnership
Khan said the franchise faced some immediate challenges in the early years of his ownership to stabilize it for long-term success.
"As time went on, it was very evident we needed a stadium," he said. "We needed facilities."
The city and Khan jointly paid for the addition of huge scoreboards and swimming pools in one set of renovations and then did another round of upgrades in tandem with building the Daily's Place amphitheater next to the stadium. That was followed by the city and Khan building Miller Electric Center that in some ways is the first phase of the stadium renovation because it will house activities that would otherwise conflict with the construction.
Khan said that because Jacksonville is a small market by the standards of NFL cities, the stadium renovation needed to be a public-private partnership so the prior deals carried over to the much larger $1.4 billion stadium makeover.
With the public-private partnership, it's really important that we don't waste the city's money, and frankly we're not wasting my money.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan
"With the public-private partnership, it's really important that we don't waste the city's money, and frankly we're not wasting my money," he said.
At the same time, he said the goal was to have "no compromises" in the stadium design. He said the gigantic scoreboards will be reused in the renovated venue. The lower portion of the stadium still is in good shape and will be kept while the upper deck is rebuilt. The part of the stadium where games are played won't be air conditioned because it will use predictable wind currents for cooling it, he said.
"I think when it's all said and done, besides the design, the bang for the buck the city's getting is going to be over the top," he said.
He said he expects the impact will go beyond the stadium itself. He remains willing to put $150 million into the community benefits agreement if the city also agrees to $150 million.
"I'm a big believer that the power of football should really move communities," he said.
The Jaguars currently have agreed to put nearly $119 million into the community benefits agreement while City Council approved $56 million from taxpayers with the rest to be determined later this summer.
Khan and Jaguars turn next to winning NFL owners approval
The next step will be for the Jaguars to take the stadium deal to the NFL owners who must approve it by a margin of 75%. Lamping said he expects owners will want to see how the deal between Jacksonville and the Jaguars compares to other teams in small markets. The Jaguars will be making the point that unlike some other franchises in other states, Florida doesn't contribute anything for professional sports stadiums so it was all on the city's shoulders for the public side of the partnership.
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He said in Jacksonville's case, it is the single largest contribution by a city to an NFL stadium that wasn't backed by a special tax.
The deal with the city also continues the Jaguars connection to the United Kingdom by giving the team the option of playing one home game per season in London with the potential of a second home game overseas every four years, or every other year if the NFL goes to an 18-game season.
Khan said as a small market team, the Jaguars investments in putting international attention on football helps the team justify getting its share of total NFL ticket sales because the Jaguars are "doing our part to grow the pie" for the league and the partnership among its owners.
"How we fit into that ecosystem, what we contribute, what we get, we have a huge amount of self-awareness of that," he said. "If we don't do that, we're not a good partner."
But he said the specific questions the team will face from NFL owners about the stadium deal are for another day.
"It's like we want to take a moment to celebrate, take a breath, then start worrying about those things," he said. " ... I mean, we could go through all the permutations, all the combinations. Why? Let's do a downward yoga pose and relax."
