Preseason wraps up with Jaguars at Dolphins, Bucs hosting Bills | 2MD
The Jacksonville Jaguars play at the Miami Dolphins at 7 p.m. Saturday, while the Buccaneers host the Bills at 7:30 p.m.
- Jacksonville City Council’s Finance Committee voted to remove funding for the mayor and council members’ use of a suite at Jaguars home games.
- The proposed budget included funds for tickets, justified by hosting executives to promote business and tourism.
- Council President Kevin Carrico plans to introduce legislation to prevent elected officials from receiving any free Jaguars tickets.
- While the suite funding is targeted, free tickets to other city-venue events remain unaffected.
A Jacksonville City Council committee voted to slam the door on council members and the mayor’s office using an air-conditioned suite at Jaguars home games, ending an arrangement that has been in place since the Jaguars first season in 1995.
Mayor Donna Deegan’s proposed budget contains $38,664 to pay for tickets so 12 City Council members and 12 representatives of the mayor’s office can watch Jaguars home games from the city’s suite at EverBank Stadium. The justification for the city having the suite has been to host executives who can bring new business and tourism to Jacksonville.
The Finance Committee’s elimination of money for tickets to the city’s suite comes as City Council President Kevin Carrico has said he will file legislation that would prevent City Council members and the mayor from getting any free Jaguars tickets.
The action by the Finance Committee on Aug. 20 doesn’t go that far. Elected officials still would be able to get free tickets to watch the Jaguars from the stadium’s terrace suites and club seats.
The elimination of funding for access to the city’s suite during Jaguars games doesn’t affect the distribution of free tickets to a variety of other events at city venues such as Jumbo Shrimp baseball games, Sharks arena football, Icemen hockey, and concerts at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Daily’s Place amphitheater and the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts.
City Council members, City Council staff, and members of the mayor’s office have received hundreds of free tickets for such events at city-owned venues in 2024 and 2025.
In the case of the suite at EverBank Stadium, the city does not pay a lease for it but instead gets access through the annual purchase of tickets. When City Council members, the mayor and city staff are in the suite, they are there as official representatives of the city.
The city originally had two suites — one for the mayor’s office and one for City Council — when the Jaguars kicked off thier opening season in 1995. That subsequently dropped to a single suite for use jointly by the mayor and City Council. EverBank Stadium has a total of 89 suites.
If the Finance Committee’s cut is upheld by the full City Council when it votes in September on next year’s budget, it would end the city’s right to use the suite in future seasons as well under the current agreement between the Jaguars and the city.
In past seasons, the mayor’s administration provided 28 tickets to City Council for use during Jaguars home games: 12 for the city’s suite, two for the terrace suite and 16 for club seats. That changed this season to 12 tickets for the city’s suite. City Council members can still request tickets for the terrace suite and club seats by going through the city’s Office of Sports and Entertainment.
In wake of that change for the upcoming season, City Council member Ron Salem filed legislation to establish a 50-50 split between the mayor’s administration and City Council for all tickets at events in city-owned venues. The city receives thousands of tickets per year as a result of various agreements and contracts.
Carrico said this week he will file an amendement to Salem’s bill that would prohibit any free tickets to City Council members or the mayor for Jaguars games. He calls it the Denying Elected Elites Gameday Access Nonsense amendment, or DEEGAN amendment.
Deegan has said she’s “flattered” that Carrico named the amendment after her and said if council wants to change the ticket system that’s been in place for years before she became mayor, it should go beyond Jaguars games and look at all tickets for events at city-owned venues. She added that she’s a longtime season ticket-holder for Jaguars games.
Carrico, who has not yet filed the amendement, said he plans to have the restriction apply to all city venues.