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Jaguars’ Stadium of the Future Renovations Are Being Paid For by Jacksonville Pension Fund: Report
According to reports, the city of Jacksonville is utilizing resident pension funds to refurbish its NFL stadium.
About a month ago, word broke that the Jacksonville City Council had authorized $775 million in public cash for stadium improvements at the Jaguars' EverBank Stadium in a deal that included a 30-year lease.
The Jaguars and NFL are scheduled to contribute $625 million to the project, using NFL G-4 financing as well as revenue from items like naming rights under the new 30-year lease and non-relocation agreement. The Jaguars must pay for any project cost overruns.
However, it appears that funds for the stadium are not coming from reputable sources. According to Field of Schemes.com, Jacksonville is robbing its pension system to pay for $775 million in Jaguars stadium improvements.
This was first reported by University of Colorado Denver economist Geoffrey Propheter on his X (formerly Twitter), where he published a post on the funding of the JAX stadium with the caption, "Still floored that JAX approved using $ for pensions to pay for upgrades." EverBank Stadium will also get funds originally allocated for the city's other two major sports facilities. Residents will now pay for their upkeep from the general revenue."
As per Field of Schemes.com, the Jacksonville Daily Record offers a lengthy, uninteresting explanation of the city's forthcoming $775 million in subsidies for a Jaguars stadium upgrade. In 2016, with the city paying more in pensions to government employees than it had on hand, Duval County voters decisively supported extending a 0.5% sales tax surcharge, formerly earmarked for road and infrastructure improvements, to pay down the pension deficit.
This May, with the city still owing $3.9 billion in pensions, the city council authorized diverting $600 million in sales tax revenue to the Jaguars stadium. The remaining $175 million in local stadium funds is derived from current hotel taxes. With sales tax money no longer available to pay down pension deficits until 2030, the city would have to utilize general fund taxpayer monies to make up the $254 million shortfall in funding its portion of contributions.
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Residents in Jacksonville voted for a sales tax increase to meet pension costs, but the city opted to raid that fund to pay for stadium renovations for a private NFL franchise, forcing it to slash services or raise taxes again to fulfill its pension obligation.
According to The Capitolist, the Jacksonville arrangement occurred one day after Charlotte's City Council agreed to pay about half of the $1.2 billion restoration requested for the stadium owned by a billionaire NFL owner.
However, they stated on June 26th that the plan includes $150 million from the city to prepare the stadium for building. The city would borrow cash to pay for its portion of the refurbishment as part of its capital improvement plan, although it was never revealed that the city would plunder its pension funds for this purpose.
The renovations are scheduled to begin after the 2025 season and be finished by 2028. That implies the franchise would play games in Jacksonville with a reduced capacity in 2026 before moving on to central Florida in either Gainesville or Orlando in 2027.
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