Subsidies

Jacksonville Is Spending $775 Million To Renovate a Stadium It Won't Use Next Year

The study the Jaguars commissioned to justify the public spending is “propaganda,” says one economist.

Jon Loesche | 11.1.2026 6:00 AM

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When the Jacksonville Jaguars kick off against the Indianapolis Colts today, only about 42,500 fans will be inside EverBank Stadium. For a team in first place in its division, with an MVP candidate at quarterback and legitimate Super Bowl aspirations, that's a shockingly small crowd. The cause isn't fan apathy. It's the renovation of the 31-year-old stadium—the latest in the NFL's long line of taxpayer boondoggles.

Jacksonville taxpayers are committing $775 million to renovate the Jaguars' stadium. Democratic Mayor Donna Deegan closed the deal, and the Jacksonville City Council approved it in June 2024. But the talks started under her Republican predecessor, Lenny Curry, whose administration negotiated a memorandum of understanding with the team in May 2023 that would have split the cost of the stadium and surrounding development 50–50. Curry later urged the council to pass Deegan's version, calling it a "win for taxpayers." 

An August 2023 study by Tourism Economics, commissioned by the Jaguars, projected $21.7 billion in economic impact between 2028 and 2052. That figure starts with $10.3 billion in direct spending such as team payroll, marketing, and event operations, then adds estimates of what suppliers and employees would spend in turn across the local economy. Deegan........

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