City Council President Ron Salem wants the council to be on equal footing with the mayor’s office when making a deal to build a new football stadium.
He has proposed hiring a consultant for the council to help in fashioning a contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars professional football team, which will be the main users of the stadium.
The Finance Committee of the council approved the hire Tuesday, and it will go before the entire council next Tuesday. Salem told Eye on Jacksonville he talked with three people before choosing Michael Huyghue for the job. The salary would be $150,000 for a one-year contract that could be extended.
The stadium has been virtually rebuilt once since the Jaguars came to Jacksonville. But the team says another overhaul is needed to keep up with current needs.
Currently the mayor’s office is seeking a law firm to represent it in negotiations with the Jaguars to prepare a contract that the council will review and approve or disapprove.
Salem said the council is a separate branch of the government and should have its own advisers in such issues to be certain it gets the full picture.
Estimates of the cost of the new stadium overhaul top the billion-dollar mark. The main issue is how much the taxpayers will pay vs. how much the team will pay. It might be five years before the stadium is built.
The team pays an annual rent of $1.2 million. But with supplemental rent charges it is. $3.8 million for the current year. And to date the Jaguars have paid more than $120 million to the city in rent for the stadium.
Salem told Eye that Huyghue, who has worked for the Jaguars, has extensive contacts in the National Football League, which will be of value to the council members as they consider the proposed contract.
