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Twenty years ago, it seemed as if sports team owners could go to local and state governments with their hands out for new money for a new stadium, and get whatever they were asking for. But, that’s no longer the case, and a shocking poll of Jacksonville residents shows just how low the support is for a publicly-funded stadium for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The University of North Florida conducted a poll regarding the opinions of residents of Duval County, residents on various proposed spending product. One of those proposed projects is an new stadium for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Duval County is made up almost entirely of the city of Jacksonville.
The Jaguars have been linked to moving to London for quite some time, and have played the most games in the league there since the NFL began playing in London in 2007.
The Jaguars current stadium, Everbank Stadium, has been home to the team since it began back in 1995. And, it simply lacks the amenities of many modern NFL stadiums.
Of course, new stadiums are pricy, with the pricetag on the low end at over $1 billion The estimated cost of what Jaguars owner Shad Kahn wants, a stadium and an entertainment district, is around $2 billion.
So, do Jacksonville residents want to pay half of that tab? Absolutely not. Just six percent of residents want the city to give away $1 billion in taxpayer money. That’s an astonishingly low number. According to a recent Gallup poll, that’s approximately the approval rating of Russian President Vladimir Putin in America.
When the question changes, and residents are asked if they would support that taxpayer money going to a Jaguars stadium if it meant the difference between the team wouldn’t leave, a slight plurality still opposed the money, 46%-47%.
Residents are a bit more palatable to spending less taxpayer money on a Jaguars stadium. 33% said they would support a taxpayer investment of $250 million to $500 million. But, a majority, 51%, said they wouldn’t support any public money at all going towards the project.
These stadium projects are incredibly unpopular now if public money is involved. We’ve seen standoffs in cities, especially Oakland with the Oakland Athletics and Raiders, lately. Taxpayers simply aren’t willing to fund these boondoggle projects that they aren’t going to get the return in future tax revenue on.
Maybe the Jaguars will be the first team to move overseas.