City council agrees to hire consultant for Jaguars stadium negotiations

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (FLV) – The Jacksonville City Council agreed to hire former Jaguars executive and NFL Consultant Michael Huyghue to assist with the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium renovation negotiations.

“I think because of all the new members on the council, it is extremely important to me to make sure that you have all the information you need from someone that is representing us,” Council President Ron Salem said during the council meeting.

In June, the Jaguars released a renovation pitch of a potential $2 billion public-private investment plan to renovate TIAA Bank Field for their new stadium and began stadium negotiations as Mayor Donna Deegan took office.

Salem said he interviewed three different people for the economic development consultant position and has narrowed it down to one, whom he said he is “very pleased with.”

Salem said Deegan’s administration indicated to him that they would like to work with Huyghue, who is also a professor of law at Cornell University.

During the city council meeting, Huyghue said he is “excited” to be a part of the process.

“I think this is really an important responsibility because having had an inside seat in the inner workings of the NFL, I think there’s a lot of things in the negotiations with the city and from a revenue standpoint that I can assist you with,” Huyghue said.

Councilman Kevin Carrico personally endorsed the bill, which would appropriate $150,000 to hire Huyghue as a consultant.

“He’s done a little bit of everything. He’s got a lot of experience relative to this topic and just overall, with experience in law, teaching law and with professional sports. I think this is a great pick and I will fully support it today,” Carrico said.

Salem said it is his understanding that Deegan’s administration is finalizing the process though OGC, a law firm they “hope to have on board fairly soon.”

Chief Financial Officer Mike Weinstein said Mayor Deegan’s administration would like to have the law firm “basically under contract” within the next week or two.

Weinstein said the plan is to introduce a law firm representative to city council some time in August, update the council on where they are in the process, and then request a formal meeting with the Jaguars by the end of August.

“I feel confident that we will have a piece on this chess board that’s going to be able to give us some insight as well,” Councilman Terrance Freeman said.

Salem said he believes the law firm will do the “heavy lifting” in terms of the negotiation process for the stadium and Huyghue would work with the firm and bring back information to the council.

Salem said what he “would see happening” is potential meetings with Huyghue and the whole city council so they can hear from Huyghue “at the same time” in order to “not run up his legal bills” the administration will be paying for.

The council president said there are “so many potential sources of revenue” through the stadium renovation that he can’t “even imagine or understand” five to 10 years from now.

“And I’m really counting on Mr. Huyghue and others to be able to identify those sources of revenue, put language in the lease to make sure that we are getting our fair share 5, 10, 15 years from now,” Salem said.

Huyghue said he has had the ability to work “in and out of sports in different capacities” with the NFL and “understand the dynamics of it and how it works.”

Huyghue said he started out as a lawyer for the NFL Players Association, working in opposition. He now works for an advocacy group called The Fritz Pollard Alliance, which he said “keeps diversity hiring for the NFL in check.”

“While my relationship has been long standing in the NFL in many cases, it has been on the opposite side of the table,” Huyghue said. “I have a very good relationship with them and that gives me an inside seat to be able to understand some of the inner workings that I think I will bring to this position.”

In June, the Jaguars said the potential new stadium will position Downtown Jacksonville as an “essential stop” for the “biggest entertainment and sporting events in the world.”

According to city documents from May 11, cost estimates for the stadium could be $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion with the city paying $800 million to $934 million for nearly two-thirds of the project.

Cost estimates for the mixed-use development around the stadium are $550 million to $668 million with the city contributing $75 million to $100 million.