Jaguars owner Shad Khan says $1.4 billion stadium renovation won’t sit well with ‘Debbie Downers’

By MARK LONG The Associated Press

FILE - Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan on the field before an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. Jacksonville approved a $1.4 billion “stadium of the future” renovation for the Jaguars. On Tuesday, June 26,2024, the proposal passed by a 14-1 vote. It calls for a 55-45% financial split, with each side contributing $625 million to the $1.25 billion build. Jacksonville, which won’t levy any new taxes to fund the rebuild, would chip in another $150 million in deferred maintenance to get EverBank Stadium ready for construction in 2026. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough, File)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Gary McCullough]

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan could have taken a chest-thumping victory lap. After all, he bought an NFL franchise in 2012 that was the laughingstock of the league and was preparing to potentially play several home games annually in nearby Orlando. Khan told anyone who would listen that he wanted the team to find success in Jacksonville. No one believed him. Relocation rumors switched to Los Angeles and then London and eventually St. Louis. So years later, with the city approving a $1.4 billion “stadium of the future” for the Jaguars, Khan took the high road. For the most part anyway. He says the deal was not a good night “for the Debbie Downers.”