JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There’s still a long way to go in the Jacksonville Jaguars Stadium of the Future project, however, Jaguars and city of Jacksonville officials are now one step — or 66 steps closer — to the dream becoming a reality. Officials cut the ribbon on the first of what will be four grand staircases around the stadium Friday morning, giving fans a new way to get around on gameday.
“There should be more points of entry. There were two gates over here, those are being consolidated into one gate,” Jaguars team president Mark Lamping said Friday. “So the old Gate 1 is now moving south just a little bit, gives access to the fan entertainment zone, and the staircases will be open.”
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The grand staircase is the result of $532 million in construction costs for the $1.4 billion Stadium of the Future, set to be completed in late 2028. Jaguars officials say the city of Jacksonville will handle around 55% of the total costs, including stadium maintenance.
Jacksonville mayor Donna Deegan said Friday that they expect the stadium renovations to be well worth the investment.
“A total of nearly 18,000 full and part-time jobs will be created by this stadium investment. And that is big for our local economy. So we thank you for that,” Mayor Deegan said. “[We’re expecting a] generation of $2.4 billion in economic impact for construction and a total of $26 billion over the 30-year lease.”
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The grand staircase project is just the beginning. Over the next few years, there will be several more changes fans should be aware of for game day.
“The ramps behind the stairs will begin demolition I think demolition actually begins next week,” Lamping added. “You’ll begin to see just as these stairs have risen on this corner, there’s work going on in as of right now on, on all the three remaining corners.”
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