JAX Chamber will actively advocate City Council approval of Jaguars agreement

JAX Chamber announced Friday it will urge City Council support for the $1.4 billion stadium renovation deal and accompanying $300 million community benefits agreement negotiated by Mayor Donna Deegan and the Jaguars.

The chamber's advocacy will give Deegan strong backing from the business community as she seeks City Council approval of the stadium deal. Chamber President and CEO Daniel Davis said chamber leaders "will be active" in speaking with City Council and urging them to approve the agreement.

“This is an incredibly important deal for the future of our city,” Davis said in a statement. “A deal to keep the Jaguars here for at least another 30 years and a state-of-the-art stadium for the team and other major events are huge wins. I commend Mayor Deegan and the Jaguars for coming together, listening to community input and getting a fair agreement done.”

The city would pay $775 million of the $1.4 billion in work at the city-owned stadium, or 55% of that tab.

Deegan and the Jaguars also reached a proposed $300 million community benefit agreement in which the city would put up $150 million and the team would commit the other $150 million. It would be the largest community benefit agreement ever by an NFL franchise.

The community-based programs would be in the areas of affordable housing, reducing homelessness, workforce development, and park construction and enhancements. Some of the spending would be for citywide programs and other money would be targeted toward downtown riverfront park development and the economically distressed Eastside neighborhood that borders the sports complex.

City Council member Rory Diamond said Tuesday that council should take the city's share out of the agreement because it has nothing to do with the stadium.

"That's a non-starter, and council will remove it," he posted Tuesday on X as Deegan was presenting the proposed agreement to City Council.

Other council members have said that compared to community benefits agreements done by NFL franchises, it's unusual for a city to put its own money into such an agreement. Council members also have said it might be better to wait until budget workshops this summer to decide on whether specific projects rise to the top for funding.

The JAX Chamber board unanimously voted Friday morning to back the entirety of the proposed deal. Deegan was joined by Jaguars President Mark Lamping and the city's lead negotiator Mike Weinstein in presenting the terms of the proposed agreement and fielding questions from chamber board members, according to the chamber's announcement.

“We have to invest in the Jaguars and the stadium — that’s part of the deal of being an NFL city and we understand that," Davis said. "The community benefit agreement is also a huge part of this deal and we will see significant benefits from these investments.”

Davis and Deegan faced off a year ago in a runoff election for mayor, which Deegan won. During the campaign, both said they would seek to reach an agreement with the Jaguars that would keep the team in Jacksonville. The team's current lease for EverBank Stadium will expire after the 2029 football season.

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The chamber's announcement noted the 55% share of the cost shouldered by the city for the $1.4 billion of stadium work would be lower than the governmental share of the cost for stadium deals in upstate New York for the Buffalo Bills and in Nashville for the Tennessee Titans.

City Council will be digging into the proposed agreement in the coming weeks. City Council President Ron Salem has said council could vote June 25 on the stadium renovation deal if council members can get their questions answered by then. He has said a vote on the community development agreement could come later after council's summer recess in July.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: JAX Chamber urges Jacksonville City Council support of Jaguars deal