Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry on Thursday said that Jaguars Owner Shahid Khan’s Shipyards proposal "is an important deal for Jacksonville, but has to make 'financial sense' for the city," according to Vito Stellino of the FLORIDA TIMES-UNION. Khan unveiled his Shipyards proposal at a news conference last February, but talks "have been slowed because of the mayoral election, among other factors." Curry, who took over July 1, "seems ready to move forward now that he has submitted his budget to the City Council." Khan’s proposal is a "private-public partnership that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars on 48 acres of city owned property on the Northbank of the St. Johns Rivers that will bridge EverBank Field and the sports complex to downtown Jacksonville." Curry said, "We’re going to figure it out. Look, it’s got to be a deal that’s good for the taxpayers, that’s good for the organization, that’s good for Jacksonville and that’s what we’re working toward.” Stellino notes the Jaguars "have not revealed how much money they are willing to put in the project and how much they are looking for the city to contribute." That will likely be a "key point in the negotiations." Jaguars President Mark Lamping said that he "expects the discussions to resume by the start of the regular season in mid-September," but he is "not putting any timetable on getting a deal done." Khan’s vision, among other things, "includes a hotel, restaurants, retail, a marina and practice fields for the Jaguars." Meanwhile, Lamping said that the Jaguars are also "working on another project to renovate the club seats" at EverBank Field (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 7/31).
