JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A decision over which company will manage Jacksonville's entertainment facilities has once again put the City and the Jaguars at odds.
On Wednesday, a city committee chose newcomer Global Spectrum to take over for the Jags' pick, SMG. Local sports agent and attorney John Phillips says that decision isn't making any friends on the football field. He said, "The City has kept with that progress of we're going to do it our way, we're going to do it our way."
The deal is the Jags and the City must agree on which company will manage EverBank Field. Phillips believes the Jags like SMG because they have history. "SMG helped get the Jaguars here through Touchdown Jacksonville. They helped sponsor each other from the get-go. And so there's that longstanding relationship," he said.
In its proposal, SMG even slashed its fee from $1.2 million dollars to $125,000. "What they've done to lower their price to some extent is to include revenue from the vending," said Phillips.
Global Spectrum submitted a very different proposal, offering a base management fee of $300,000 and the promise to make a $1.5 million investment to improve the facilities.
Now, it's up to the Mayor to decide. But Phillips doesn't predict a loss for the Jags. "I think the Jags are going to win, because they're going to last longer than the Mayor's administration."
In a statement to Action News, Jags' Senior Vice President Dan Edwards said, "Unless the city and the Jaguars agree, the process has failed with regard to EverBank Field. We will await the Mayor's final decision."
Our attempts to contact the City for comment today were unanswered.
