Daytona’s speedway racing to host Jags’ games

Last updated: 2023/06/12 at 10:45 PM

BigP Published June 12, 2023

Michael DiRocco, ESPN Staff WriterJun 12, 2023, 03:59 PM ET
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — If the Jacksonville Jaguars have to play their home games elsewhere during proposed renovations to TIAA Bank Field, one option could be Daytona International Speedway.

DIS president Frank Kelleher released a statement to The Daytona Beach News-Journal over the weekend that he and team representatives will meet soon to discuss potentially playing at the 101,500-seat facility 92 miles south of the Jaguars’ current stadium.

Jaguars president Mark Lamping has confirmed the potential meeting as well. Last week the team released an early look at what it called the stadium of the future. It’s part of a $2 billion project that includes developing the area around the stadium, with the stadium improvements costing between $1.3 billion and $1.4 billion, per Lamping. Under the proposal, owner Shad Khan would split the cost of the entire project, but the city would pay a greater portion of the stadium renovations.

If the city and the Jaguars agree on a two-year stadium renovation plan, the Jaguars would be forced to play their home games elsewhere. The team has already had conversations with the University of Florida to use Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and Orlando officials to use Camping World Stadium.

Other sites mentioned include the nearby 11,000-seat baseball stadium that houses the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins and a 9,400-seat stadium at the University of North Florida, but Lamping said it would cost $125 million to add 20,000 seats to either facility to get them NFL-ready.

If the team and city agree to a four-year renovation plan, the team could still play its home games at TIAA Bank Field, but Lamping said that would add an additional $190 million to the cost of the stadium renovations.

The Jaguars’ lease with the city expires after the 2029 season, and the team is hoping to reach a deal with the city in March 2024 and present it at the NFL spring meeting for approval in May 2024. If that happens, construction could begin after the 2025 season.