ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando is one of two finalists to host the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2027. The NFL team will need to temporarily relocate for that season while their stadium undergoes a massive renovation.
The bid comes down to Orlando and Gainesville.
Earlier this week, Orange County approved to provide Florida Citrus Sports with roughly $10 million to draw the Jags to Orlando at Camping World Stadium.
CEO Steve Hogan broke down what those tourist tax dollars will go toward.
“For a minimum of eight games for Orlando, we’ll commit $10 million of an investment,” Hogan said.
“If you make the playoffs, we’ll add an additional $500,000 per playoff game capped at $2 million. That makes a total of $11 million, if we have the Jags for 8 games and they’re successful enough to make the playoffs for two games,” Hogan explained.
Between tourist attractions, and the stadium not having a permanent tenant, Hogan told Channel 9 he believes Orlando has the upper hand.
“There isn’t a college team playing on Saturdays there with an NFL team playing on Sunday. We think that lack of competition, if you will, for most of the dates the NFL is wanting to play is a major plus.”
Hogan said renovations to Camping World should be complete by July of 2027.
“Ready to host hopefully an NFL preseason game in late August,” Hogan said.
He added there is still time for the community to make a final plea to the team.
“Get ready to be excited. We should be confident, we should be bold, we should be sending tweets and texts to the Jags saying we want you to come here we’re going to have an amazing season. Hopefully ready to celebrate by the owners meeting in May.”
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