JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As fans pack EverBank Stadium for Sunday’s Jaguars playoff game against the Buffalo Bills, excitement is growing across Jacksonville. Up to 70,000 fans are expected to fill the Bank, creating an electric atmosphere for one of the biggest games in years.
But while the Jaguars are winning on the field, the financial scoreboard for the city might not be a touchdown.
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According to the City of Jacksonville, each Jaguars home game costs taxpayers between $650,000 and $700,000. Those expenses cover police and fire services, utilities, and stadium operations.
In return, the city brings in about $275,000 per game through ticket and parking surcharges. Fans pay a $4.08 parking fee surcharge and a $3.79 ticket surcharge, revenues that go into a special fund designated for stadium maintenance.
For playoff games, there is an additional boost from tax revenue generated by visitors. Visit Jacksonville, the official marketing arm for the city, reports that the Jaguars’ last home playoff game in January 2023 produced $401,020 in local tax revenue. Even with that added income, Jacksonville is essentially breaking even at best, even when hosting a playoff game.
Economic Impact vs. Revenue
Economic impact figures often paint a much rosier picture. Visit Jacksonville estimates that game generated more than $16 million in economic impact -- money spent on hotels, restaurants, transportation, and entertainment across the region.
However, Dr. Victor Matheson, professor of sports economics at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., cautions that economic impact does not equal revenue for city government.
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“When people expend money for this game, that money doesn’t all end up in the pockets of government -- only a small fraction,” Matheson said.
He added that even a surge in hotel stays doesn’t translate directly into city profits.
“Even if 10,000 hotel rooms were used, that money wouldn’t all go into city coffers. Most of it goes to hotel chains, and only a tiny fraction ends up as tax revenue,” he said.
‘Privatized profits and socialized costs’
Not included in the per-game cost calculations are the hundreds of millions of dollars Jacksonville has already spent on stadium renovations, upkeep, and maintenance over the years.
The city is also committed to $775 million for the “Stadium of the Future” splitting the cost of the $1.5 billion stadium with the Jaguars.
However, the Jaguars and not the city retain the revenue from merchandise sales, concessions, luxury suites, sponsorships, and naming rights for the city-owned stadium for all games.
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Ticket revenue is shared between the Jaguars and the NFL, although for playoff games, the league retains a larger share and disperses it to the rest of the league.
The financial arrangement between NFL teams and cities, critics such as Matheson argue, effectively privatizes profits while socializing costs, leaving taxpayers to shoulder much of the risk.
“No one should think the game or stadium is a big money maker for the city,” Matheson said. “But the game will make you happy, maybe.”
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