JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — We’re about a year and a half into the EverBank Stadium renovation project, and city leaders revealed Tuesday that the project may already be at risk of cost overruns.
But there is some good news, at least as far as the city is concerned.
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Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan’s Chief of Staff Mike Weinstein told Action News Jax the Stadium of the Future renovation is moving ahead on schedule, but could come in over the initial $1.4 billion price tag.
Weinstein said inflation, tariffs, and the overall increase in the price of materials have pushed the final estimated cost up about $100 million.
“Everybody is very much working towards keeping it basically within budget, but the safety for the city is that if it does grow, it’s not on us,” Weinstein said.
While any additional cost would be covered by the Jacksonville Jaguars, in an effort to keep cost overruns low, the city has adjusted its payment timeline.
Last year, the city contributed $150 million to the project and was expected to do the same this year, but decided to front an additional $60 million.
“Our money has to first go towards the purchasing of commodities because we get a tax benefit. We don’t pay sales tax. So, the stadium as a whole is saving about $25 million in sales taxes that we don’t have to pay. The government buys those things,” Weinstein said. “They want to buy as much as we can before the prices go up.”
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Weinstein explained that despite the payment scheduling change, the city will still only be responsible for covering its $750 million share of the project in the end.
Cost overruns could also get the city and team closer to a true 50/50 price split, as the city’s commitment would have been just over 50 percent of the initial estimated cost of the project.
As of now, Weinstein said the estimated $100 million cost overrun is very manageable, especially compared to recent stadium projects in other cities.
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“Again, not on us, but the Jaguars would be happy if they were only overrun by about $100 million. They’d be tickled,” Weinstein said.
Weinstein also noted that should the Jags make the playoffs and score an additional home game this season, the current construction should not cause any problems.
Though he suggested a deep playoff run next year could come with some complications, as the stadium will be operating at a limited capacity.
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