A little more information is trickling out about Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan’s proposed stadium development, which we discussed briefly here on Friday. The new practice facility at its center, it turns out, wouldn’t just be a practice facility, but would also allow the team to move its locker rooms and offices out of their current location under the main stadium, which would make it possible to do a major renovation of that building while still playing games there. USA Today speculates that the model could be the Miami Dolphins‘ stadium, which got a $500 million renovation — mostly but not entirely from team and league money — in 2016, adding a fabric sun shade and other new amenities. (Were there new cupholders? I am sure there were cupholders.)
With Khan’s development plans now a two-stage deal, it’s increasingly difficult to tell exactly how much public money he’d be asking for, which is, almost certainly, part of the strategy. The term sheet for round one includes mention of $93 million in “publicly provided benefits,” including a $44 million “REV grant” and a $28 million “completion grant.” Khan has also said he would pay for half the $120 million cost of building the practice stadium, and it’s not clear if the other half is included in the term sheet’s calculation; if not, then we’re talking about $153 million in public funds just to start.
Then we have the question of who would pay for the roughly half-billion-dollar cost of renovating the main stadium. (Sorry for not using its corporate name, but I can never remember it, and I’m betting neither can you. And anyway, nobody’s paying me to advertise whatever product — insurance? I’m guessing insurance — it’s a billboard for.) ESPN helpfully reports:
The team has been laying the groundwork for significant work to the city-owned stadium but did not release a proposal for potential renovations or construction to the stadium or state whether Khan would be willing to contribute any money to that project.
Okay then! So this could be a demand for $93 million in public money, or $153 million, or maybe around $653 million, depending on details that Khan chose to exclude from the proposal he had written up to, in theory, provide details about what he’s asking for.
No doubt Khan will get there in time, but in the meantime he’s no doubt hoping that a $93 million price tag will seem more reasonable, and once he has approval of that he can work on further demands. (This is one of the basics of the stadium playbook, in fact: In Chapter 4 of our book, Joanna Cagan and I dubbed it “moving the goalposts.”) The hope would be while Khan bides his time, local journalists will start digging into the full cost of his plans; I haven’t seen anything along those lines yet, but if you’re a North Florida sports or public policy reporter looking for a project, here’s your chance for a clickworthy scoop — and to, you know, inform the public.
It’ll always be the Gator Bowl to me.
Amen and pass the tambourine. Wasn’t it called Jacksonville Municipal stadium or something close at one point??? There have been so many names and I care so little for any of them that it hardly matters what anyone calls it (paid or unpaid). The stadium. The football stadium.
You lost me at “Sorry for not using its corporate name, but I can never remember it, and I’m betting neither can you.”
It’s TIAA bank field and it’s easy to do a little research to find out what its name is. If you’re going to attempt to write a article without doing a little research then it’s not worth people’s time.
I know the name. I was making a joke about how corporate stadium names are 1) forgettable and 2) a way for corporate marketing managers to LITERALLY BUY SPACE IN OUR MINDS, but sure, boring accuracy has its place, too.
This is good and funny strategy. I also think using ALL the names is good: Fairfield Gator AlltelEverTIAAbank Municipal Stadium.
Floormaster, we could give it an acronym…FGAETMS.
I still call the now unused Astrodome here in Houston by the official name, Harris County Domed Stadium.
NdM! This is the Corporate States of America!
How could you? How dare you? Not mention the corporate sponsor!
After all, TIAA Bank paid for the right to have their corporate logo emblazoned by lights (and forever planted in our brains).
What next? Boycott Starbucks in favor of a local coffee shop? Boycott Home Depot and Lowe’s in favor of a local hardware store? Stop patronizing Amazon and Walmart (thank the heavens books are now obsolete. Otherwise, you’d probably boycott Borders and Barnes & Noble for a local bookstore as well). Is there no act of corporate sedition too great you won’t partake in it?
Now try to be a good corporate citizen, will you please? Wear your Capital One Shirt today (Banking Reimagined), your Levi’s and Nike’s. Your might want to top it off with your Mets / Citi ball cap while you’re out and about today (to keep the sun off of you).
PS. You’re a celebrity now, so you probably should wear your Ray Ban sunglasses outside as well. And by all means, carry some photographs and FoS pens, to sign then with and hand out both to your many fans.
I would be more upset about what the Jaguars potentially ripping city funds than citing the corporate name of the stadium.
#MaxSarcasm
For the FoS editor. Whom I agree with wholeheartedly.
Corporate named stadiums.
Public funding of billionaire owner sports franchise stadia.
Players, ticket prices, concessions, workers, etc. maximized to the greatest extent possible for profit.
Gotta admit. The billionaires have figured out a great scam. What other business in this nation will the public fund the build of corporate buildings, factory, manufacturing plant, etc. for an owner’s profit (Brazil, the public protested in the streets over government spending on stadia for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics). Meanwhile, this nation peacefully slumbers.
Damn. Talk about your wet blankets.
Ah yes, the old “sunk cost” trick. Seems fair not to expect a billionaire to spend his own money. After all, all those political contributions and skyboxes need to show a return.
Here’s one vote for permanently naming the stadium (after all, the only people who are required to use the corporate name are the team & league who are taking the money from the sponsor, their employees and partners… the rest of us are free to call it what we want, in print or elsewhere):
“Shady Shahid’s Billionaire Welfare Mine”
His story is actually quite impressive… starting from a modest background, one of the few people to actually build his fortune through hard work (unlike most of the very wealthy who gloss over the fact that they were very wealthy before they started whatever business(es) made them billionaires). But now that he has fully joined the fraternity of billionaires who demand publicly funded stadia and also majority publicly funded practice facilities while graciously allowing as how he ‘might’ be willing to make some sort of personal contribution to the practice facility… (so, what are we talking here? A signed 8×10 glossy to be auctioned off to raise money for… himself?) I think he’s become tremendously shady.
Seriously, dude. You should be an inspiration. Instead, you are painting yourself as a grifter looking for welfare from people who STILL live the modest life you were so keen to get out of.
What hubris.
“The hope would be while Khan bides his time, local journalists will start digging into the full cost of his plans; I haven’t seen anything along those lines yet, but if you’re a North Florida sports or public policy reporter looking for a project, here’s your chance for a clickworthy scoop — and to, you know, inform the public.”
Right! That’ll work. In the meantime, you’ll not mind if I don’t hold my breath.
Vis a vis the cup holders at Joe Robbie Stadium 2.0, there’s a video of the fan experience where you can see for premium seating there aren’t any. Instead they have tables. How 21st century.
https://youtu.be/lmZ17F4L3ok
But for the regular Joes, there are cup holders! As illustrated in these photos. https://aviewfrommyseat.com/team/Miami+Dolphins/Hard+Rock+Stadium/
There will never be a name as good as Everbank. That rolled off the tongue and led to Lock Down the Bank, a great slogan.