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Orange County may sweeten Orlando’s invitation to the 2027 Jacksonville Jaguars to play at Camping World Stadium with a $10 million incentive to the team.
“An opportunity to host an entire season is an embarrassment of riches,” said Steve Hogan, the CEO of Florida Citrus Sports, to a county committee on Monday.
Camping World is considered a finalist along with Gainesville’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to serve as the field for the Jaguar’s 2027 slate of home games, as the team will have to vacate EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville amid a massive renovation.
For the Orlando area, bringing the Jags to the city could translate into economic impact, bringing free-spending fans to town, and the chance to show the region would be a fitting site for its own NFL team some day, supporters say.
Ultimately the final call will come down to the 32 NFL franchise owners, who are likely to take a vote at a meeting in May. The team is expected to choose its own favorite city in the coming weeks.
Hogan said the NFL has several options. It could choose to play all nine available games – one preseason and eight regular season contests – in either Orlando or Gainesville, it could divvy up the schedule for the Jaguars to play home games at both sites or it could opt for the team to play at least a portion of the season in Europe.
The league has ramped up its international games in recent years in an attempt to boost popularity outside of the United States – with the Jaguars frequently playing games in London. Hogan told the committee he suspects the Jaguars would play at least one 2027 game overseas.
The county committee, made up of tourism-industry officials, a mayor’s appointee and a certified public accountant, voted Monday to advance the incentive proposal to the full Board of County Commissioners.
The proposal includes the potential for another $1 million to be paid out if the Jaguars play in Orlando and make the playoffs – each home playoff game boosting the payment by $500,000. The playoff bonus incentive is capped at two games, though the team has not played two home playoff games in one postseason since 1999.
All incentive dollars would come from a fund created by Tourist Development Tax, a 6% levy on hotel rooms and short-term rental room nights.
Orlando officials have excitedly pursued the Jaguars since it became clear a season of games could be attainable.
The city-owned stadium is set to undergo a $400 million renovation, also funded by TDT money, which includes adding 2,000 more seats, improving upper bowl seating, modernizing stadium systems and a new indoor event center.
Those upgrades are expected to be completed by July 2027, about a month ahead of the first game the Jags could play, Hogan said.
One benefit for Orlando: the city has hosted the NFL’s Pro Bowl six times in the past decade.
Further boosting Orlando’s bid is that the city has hotel capacity and frequently hosts large events. Like Las Vegas, now the home city of the Raiders franchise, Orlando could attract a bevy of visiting fans looking to attend a game as part of a vacation to theme parks.
“At the end of the day, even the Jags fans who don’t live in Central Florida themselves will have to travel to see their team,” he said.
rygillespie@orlandosentinel.com
