Suggested stadium upgrades for Jacksonville Jaguars roils power players in the city

As the Jacksonville Jaguars began surveying season ticket holders about potential upgrades to TIAA Bank Field, April’s Power Poll shows the city’s movers and shakers are taking note about a makeover to the home stadium of the NFL franchise.

Not only have the Jags started polling their most loyal supporters, the city and the team agreed two years ago to begin the process of possible upgrades to the stadium. Our Power Poll found there is a high degree of interest in any possible improvements to the stadium and some of the perceptions among our power players were pretty polarized.

When asked what their perception of any upgrades to the stadium was, 59% of respondents to the Power Poll questionnaire said it’s been about 30 yeas since there were any major upgrades to the building and it’s time to modernize. Another 26% said they’ve already added large video screens and other improvements. So, why do we need more? Still, 10% said they’re amazed at all the talk of stadium improvements while the Jags have been the worst team in the NFL for the past two years. Another 5% said they had no opinion or are not sure.

When asked how important they think it is that the stadium gets a major overhaul, 47% of those who took part in the poll said the lease with the Jags runs out in 2030. So some upgrades will have to be made or the Jags could leave town. Another 26% said if the Jags start winning more they could be more enthusiastic about the stadium improvements while 24% said they thought the city had better things to spend tax money on and 1% said they weren’t sure or had no opinion.

When asked who should pay for any potential upgrades, a solid majority separated from the pack with 62% agreeing that it should be shared between the Jags and the city. Still, 28% of the respondents said Jags owner Shad Khan should shoulder the financial burden while 5% said the city of Jacksonville owns the stadium and should pay for upgrades and respondents were split at 1% each by saying no one should pay for it because it’s not important or they had no opinion or don’t know.

When asked how urgent stadium upgrades were in their minds, Power Poll participants were split. Some 33% said upgrades are real urgent and that’s part of being an NFL city by modernizing stadiums and the same percentage said it’s not urgent at all, we’re talking about a stadium. Another 26% said it’s important, but not urgent because the city has until 2030 before the lease with the Jags runs out and another 5% said the city has not done enough and needs to get things going. Another 3% said they’re not sure or had no opinion.