JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars are set to be in new digs in just a few years.
The Jacksonville Jaguars will move into their Stadium of the Future in 2028, but first two things must be done. The Jaguars are working to get the stadium ready for reduced capacity in 2026, while they will also have to find a home to play in during the 2027 season when the stadium is closed for final renovations.
With that in mind, Jaguars president Mark Lamping gave an update on the 2027 plans on Wednesday. While there was no indication of where the 2027 location will be, a timeline for a decision has more or less been set.
“I think we’re getting very close to a resolution on where we’ll be playing in 2027. We have every expectation that it will be taken up at the upcoming owner’s meeting, which is scheduled for Phoenix at the end of March. Then we’ll be able to move on at that point and begin planning,” Lamping said.
The owners meeting, which will take place from March 29 through April 1, so that means we should have some resolution in the next month or so. Surely things could change, but it appears the guesswork behind the Jaguars’ temporary home is set to finally be redundant and unnecessary.
“I think the process for that is it needs to be first approved by probably two ownership committees. Ownership committees convene next week in Palm Beach, Monday and Tuesday so this matter will probably go in front of two committees next week,” Lamping said.
“If it comes out of those committees with an affirmative vote, it goes to a vote of 32 owners. That process was no different than what we had to go through to get our 30-year lease extension approved, but it looks like we’re on that timetable.”
The two options, of course, have come down to Orlando and Gainesville. It is widely expected for Orlando to be the selection, but nothing is official until it is official.
“There is no secret. We spent a lot of time looking at Florida’s field in Gainesville, we’ve talked about some of the challenges there. Spent a lot of time at Camping World Stadium in Orlando,” Lamping said.
“The NFL has certain requirements. The logistics have to work out, not only for the home team but also the visiting team. Locker rooms, space on the sideline so that you can continue to support a high-quality television production. Those are probably most of the things we considered.”
What we do know is that the Jaguars only have six home games left in Jacksonville before the new stadium opens. Soon, we will know where else they will call home, even if it is just for a year.
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