From 1997 to 2006, the stadium was named Alltel Stadium after communications company Alltel purchased naming rights. The facility was renamed EverBank Field in 2010, following the approval of a five-year, naming rights deal with the financial services company EverBank. The agreement was extended in 2014 for an additional 10 years.[6] The Jaguars announced in February 2018 the stadium would be renamed TIAA Bank Field for the 2018 NFL season after EverBank was acquired by New York–based Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA).[7] In June 2023, the Jaguars announced the team's home stadium would be renamed EverBank Stadium prior to the start of the season.[8]
EverBank Stadium is located in the Stadium District of downtown Jacksonville, which has been home to football fields since the early 20th century. In 1928 the first permanent football stadium, Fairfield Stadium, was constructed. In 1948 this was expanded and renamed Gator Bowl Stadium, in honor of the annual Gator Bowl game first played two years earlier.
The current structure was built using a few portions of the historic Gator Bowl Stadium. However, all of the elements included from the older stadium—the pedestrian ramp system and the more recent West Upper Deck section of the complex—dated back only to 1982. Construction started January 3, 1994, and the new stadium opened on August 18, 1995, with an exhibition game with the St. Louis Rams. Total construction time was under 20months and total cost was US$134million—$60million of which was provided by the city of Jacksonville.
Planning
In January 1993, representatives from the University of Florida and University of Georgia began negotiating with Jacksonville representatives to renew the contract to host the Florida–Georgia game, the annual rivalry game between the college football teams of the two universities. The universities' five-year contract with the Gator Bowl ended after the 1994 game, and the Citrus Bowl had offered Florida and Georgia a larger sum of money than the Gator Bowl for the right to host the game.[10]
To counter the Citrus Bowl's larger monetary offer, Jacksonville mayor Ed Austin proposed a $25.5 million renovation plan to Jacksonville's aging Gator Bowl Stadium, which had been built in 1949. Both teams had expressed concerns about the condition of the aging stadium, and renovations were considered key to enticing the teams to keep returning to Jacksonville, bringing tens of millions of dollars in consumer spending with them.[11] Despite the promise of renovations, Georgia athletic director Vince Dooley was unswayed,[12] so Austin widened the scope of the renovations, increasing their price tag to $49 million, and traveled to Athens, Georgia, to talk with Dooley in person.[13] Austin's campaigning was partially successful. On March 23, 1993, the two universities announced they had signed a five-year contract with the Gator Bowl, running from 1997 to 2002. The contract was contingent on Austin successfully passing the $49 million renovation bond issue through the Jacksonville City Council and the city completing the renovations by the 1996 game.[14] On Tuesday, May 11, the Jacksonville City Council approved a $219.5 million bond issue, including the $49 million for the renovation of the Gator Bowl.[15][16]
NFL expansion
Soon after the approval of the bond issue, investors interested in attracting a new National Football League team to Jacksonville requested that another $30 million be added to the $49 million renovations in order to make the stadium more attractive for a professional team.[17] That number climbed higher throughout the summer, and eventually the city reached an agreement with the leading group of investors hoping to attract an NFL team to Jacksonville. On July 1, the city and investors reached a lease agreement contingent on the city investing $112.3 million for improving the Gator Bowl.[18] The lease agreement later collapsed when the Jacksonville City Council voted to send the lease back to a committee for further study rather than approving it.[19] One month after the proposed deal fell through, city officials and investors tried again and were successful in negotiating a deal that included a pledge to spend $121 million on renovations to the Gator Bowl.[20] Due to the expanded renovations, it was announced that the 1994 Florida-Georgia game would have to be moved out of the Gator Bowl, as had the 1995 game, in order to provide time for the newly expanded renovation plan to be completed before 1996.[21] In the end, the expanded bond issue and renovation program proved to be successful, as Jacksonville was awarded the 30th NFL franchise—the Jacksonville Jaguars—on November 30, 1993.[22]
Almost as soon as the celebration surrounding Jacksonville's new NFL team died down, however, a renovation contractor's plan to give 8% of the stadium work to minority-owned businesses drew criticism. The NAACP and another group said African-American businesses should have been awarded twice that amount of work.[23]
Current stadium
Super Bowl XXXIXEverBank Stadium during 10th anniversary of 9/11New scoreboard and party deck installed in 2014
The stadium's re-opening day was also the home debut of the Jaguars during the 1995 NFL season. It was the first time that an expansion NFL team had played its first game in a new facility; they played the Houston Oilers in the opener and lost 10–3. The Gator Bowl returned as a New Year's Day bowl game on January 1, 1996, following the 1995 NCAA season.
The stadium contains 11,200 club seats, 88 luxury suites, and a "super suite".[1]
In 1997, the stadium changed its name to Alltel Stadium after naming rights were acquired by Alltel, a telecommunications company best known as a wireless carrier. The name Alltel Stadium stopped being used by the city after January 2007 when the contract expired; by that point, most of Alltel's assets had been purchased by Verizon.
In 2005, the stadium hosted Super Bowl XXXIX in which the New England Patriots defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24–21 in front of 78,125, the largest Super Bowl in attendance since 1994. Paul McCartney performed at halftime, performing Beatles classics "Drive My Car", "Get Back", and "Hey Jude", as well as a firework-filled "Live and Let Die". In 2003 and 2004, $47million in improvements to the stadium were implemented to prepare for the Super Bowl. These improvements included the addition of a unique sports bar in the south end zone called the "Bud Zone", a larger and wider video and scoring display from Daktronics, escalators in the north and south end zone, and a new "terrace suite" called the "Sky Patio" right above the "Bud Zone" in the south end zone.[24]
Before the 2005 season, mainly due to low attendance figures and looming blackouts, team officials installed a series of tarps to reduce the seating capacity for Jaguars games. The covers were placed to block out seven sections in the upper north end zone and four in each upper deck section, located on the corners of each. This puts 9,703 seats out of service, leaving the stadium with 66,851 seats for the regular season. However, in the event the Jaguars make the AFC Championship Game, the stadium can easily be expanded to full capacity. Some believed that this was a sign that the city couldn't support an NFL team; the city is the second-smallest market in the league. However, the current capacity is actually very close to what Wayne Weaver included in his original proposal to bring the Gator Bowl up to NFL standards. The city council turned this plan down, mainly out of concern for not having enough seats to accommodate the annual Florida-Georgia game.
Despite the changes, however, blackouts have still occurred, including two of their first three home games in 2007 and nine of ten games in 2009. It is believed that the 2008 US financial crisis played a major part in the 2009 season blackouts,[citation needed] leading to insufficient ticket sales, with only the final home engagement of the regular season, with the Indianapolis Colts, managing to sell out. However, the Jaguars' 2010 season saw a huge turnaround in ticket sales, with no games being blacked out that year. The Jaguars avoided blackouts in all games in 2011 and 2012.
For the Super Bowl, Florida–Georgia game, and occasionally the Gator Bowl, temporary bleachers are put up in the south end zone, raising capacity to over 84,000.
The attendance record was set on September 29, 2007, when 85,413 watched Florida State defeat Alabama in what was dubbed the River City Showdown.[25] Each school received nearly 36,000 tickets, and the Gator Bowl Association added 5,800 seats.[26]
On July 26, 2010, naming rights to the stadium were bought by EverBank,[27] one of the nation's largest privately held bank holding companies. On August 10, the deal was officially approved by the Jacksonville City Council with a 14–3 vote.[28]
In November 2013, Jacksonville's City Council approved $63 million in improvements to EverBank Field. Jaguars owner Shahid Khan helped finance $20 million of the cost.[29] Renovations included two end zone video scoreboards 362-foot (110m) long that are the largest HDLED of their kind in the world, a platform area in the north end zone with two wading pools, unique food and beverage offerings, interactive activities, and 55,000 square feet (5,100m2) of HD video screens, which is a world record for a stadium.[30] Construction of the platform resulted in the removal of approximately 7,000 seats, though temporary seating can be installed for major events that will require a larger stadium capacity. During the construction a live webcam was set up to view the progress of the new video scoreboards.[31] The scoreboards were publicly unveiled on July 26, 2014.[32]
In the middle of 2016, the Jaguars and the city of Jacksonville announced $90 million in improvements to the stadium. Phase 1 includes the improvements to club seating, sponsored by US Assure, new walkout patios at the 50-yard-line and the creation of a new south end zone tunnel that will be the new team entrance and create two new seating environments. Phase 2 includes the construction of an amphitheater (Daily's Place) and a covered flex field; both phases were completed in May 2017.[33]
After the successful 2017 season which saw the Jaguars return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2007 season and host a playoff game for the first time since 1999, the Jaguars announced the removal of the last of the tarps on the upper levels. The removal adds 3,501 seats to the capacity of the stadium bringing total capacity to 67,814.[2]
The stadium is planned to undergo wholesale renovations around 2025 and 2026 that would downsize capacity to 62,000.[34] This could force the Jaguars, the Gator Bowl, and the Florida–Georgia game to temporarily play elsewhere during the reconstruction.[35][36] In June 2023 the Jaguars unveiled plans for the renovation of the stadium. Dubbed the "Stadium of the Future", the plans include a 360 degree concourse, an energy-efficient facade, and a large canopy to provide shade. Capacity will be reduced to 62,000, expandable to 71,500 for college football games.[37]
Seating capacity
The seating capacity for Jaguars games has gone as follows:
This concert was originally scheduled to take place on June 18, 2020 but was postponed until August 7, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida. It was then postponed again the following year, also due to COVID-19.[49]
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South Division. The team plays its home games at EverBank Stadium.
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, usually contested on or around New Year's Day. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first televised nationally. The game was originally played at Gator Bowl Stadium through the December 1993 game. The December 1994 game was played at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville after the namesake stadium was demolished to make way for a replacement venue, Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. That venue, now known as EverBank Stadium, has been home to the Gator Bowl since the January 1996 game.
The Florida–Georgia football rivalry is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the University of Florida Gators and the University of Georgia Bulldogs, both members of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference. The programs first met in 1904 or 1915 and have played every season since 1926 except for a war-time interruption in 1943. It is one of the most prominent rivalry games in college football, and it has been held in Jacksonville, Florida since 1933, with only two exceptions, making it one of the few remaining neutral-site rivalries in college football. The game attracts huge crowds to Jacksonville, and the associated tailgating and other events earned it the nickname of the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party", although that name is no longer officially used.
Tampa Stadium was a large open-air stadium located in Tampa, Florida, which opened in 1967 and was significantly expanded in 1974–75. The facility is most closely associated with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League, who played there from their establishment in 1976 until 1997. It also hosted two Super Bowls, in 1984 and 1991, as well as the 1984 USFL Championship Game. To meet the revenue demands of the Buccaneers' new owners, Raymond James Stadium was built nearby in 1998, and Tampa Stadium was demolished in early 1999.
Camping World Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Orlando, Florida, United States located in the West Lakes neighborhood of Downtown Orlando, west of new sports and entertainment facilities including the Kia Center, the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, and Inter&Co Stadium. It opened in 1936 as Orlando Stadium and has also been known as the Tangerine Bowl and Florida Citrus Bowl. The City of Orlando owns and operates the stadium.
The Gator Bowl was an American football stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. Originally built in 1927, all but a small portion was razed in 1994 in preparation for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars' inaugural season; the reconstructed stadium became Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, now EverBank Stadium. The old stadium and its replacement have hosted the Gator Bowl, a post-season college football bowl game, since its inception in 1946. It also hosted the Florida–Georgia game, an annual college football rivalry game between the University of Florida and the University of Georgia, and was home to several professional sports teams, including the Jacksonville Sharks and Jacksonville Express of the World Football League (WFL), the Jacksonville Tea Men soccer team, and the Jacksonville Bulls of the United States Football League.
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, popularly known as "The Swamp", is a football stadium on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville and the home field of the Florida Gators football team. It was originally known as Florida Field when it opened as a 22,000-seat facility in 1930, and it has been expanded and renovated many times over the ensuing decades. Most of the university's athletic administrative offices, along with most football-related offices and training areas, have been located in the stadium since the 1960s. Most of the football program's facilities are slated to move to a nearby $60 million building that began construction in 2020.
The 2006 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the franchise's 12th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the 4th under head coach Jack Del Rio. The Jaguars failed to improve on their 12–4 record from 2005. The Jaguars finished in third place in the AFC South and finished the season at 8–8. Although the Jaguars were 8–5 after thirteen games, they lost their next three games in a row and missed the postseason for the second time in three seasons.
Willie Bernard Jackson Jr. is a former American professional football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins. He played college football at the University of Florida. As a football coach, he was the wide receivers coach for the Orlando Apollos of the Alliance of American Football (AAF).
The history of the Jacksonville Jaguars, an American football team in the National Football League (NFL), formally dates to November 30, 1993, when the NFL awarded Jacksonville, Florida the expansion franchise that became the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars, along with the Carolina Panthers, started play in the 1995 NFL season as expansion teams.
Jacksonville is home to a number of professional sports teams, and the city has a long history of athletics. The Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) compete at the major league level. Additionally, the PGA Tour is headquartered in the suburb of Ponte Vedra Beach, where it hosts The Players Championship every year.
The Jaguars–Titans rivalry is a professional American football rivalry between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans in the National Football League (NFL)'s AFC South division. While it isn't the most well-known or historic rivalry in the NFL, it is one of the more famous rivalries in the AFC South.
The 2018 season was the Jacksonville Jaguars' 24th in the National Football League (NFL) and their second under head coach Doug Marrone. This was their first season in new uniforms, which were revealed in April 2018. The Jaguars had hopes of matching or improving on their 10–6 campaign from the year prior, but despite a 3–1 start, the Jags fell into a 7 game losing streak and failed to improve on their 10–6 record after a Week 10 loss to the Colts. After they lost to the Tennessee Titans in Week 14, the Jaguars fell to 4–9 and were officially eliminated from postseason contention. They finished 5–11, in last place in the AFC South.
The 2019 season was the Jacksonville Jaguars' 25th in the National Football League (NFL) and their third under head coach Doug Marrone.
The 2019 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gators played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida, and competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by second-year head coach Dan Mullen.
Jawaan Taylor is an American football offensive tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Taylor signed for the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency upon the expiry of his rookie contract. He was the starting right tackle as the team won Super Bowl LVIII in his first season with the team.
The 2020 season was the Jacksonville Jaguars' 26th season in the National Football League (NFL), their eighth and final season under general manager David Caldwell and their fourth and final season under head coach Doug Marrone. With a Week 11 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Jaguars dropped to 1–9 resulting in their third consecutive losing season and their ninth in ten seasons. After a loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 12, the Jaguars both failed to improve on their 6–10 record from the previous season and were eliminated from playoff contention for the third consecutive season. They surpassed their loss total from the previous season after an overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
The 2021 season was the Jacksonville Jaguars' 27th season in the National Football League (NFL). This was their only season under head coach Urban Meyer and first under general manager Trent Baalke.
The 1950 Senior Bowl was a college football exhibition game featuring players from the 1949 college football season and prospects in the 1950 NFL Draft. The inaugural edition of the Senior Bowl was played on January 7, 1950, at Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. The teams were coached by personnel from the National Football League (NFL); Bo McMillin of the Detroit Lions for the North, and Steve Owen of the New York Giants for the South. The game was broadcast on the Mutual Radio Network. After the North took an early 13–0 lead, the South came from behind for a 22–13 victory. South quarterback Travis Tidwell of Auburn completed 13 of 19 passes for 246 yards and was named game MVP.
The 2022 season was the Jacksonville Jaguars' 28th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their first under head coach Doug Pederson.
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