Jacksonville Jaguars President comments on possibility of playing at Daytona International Speedway

The Jacksonville Jaguars unveiled plans for their new stadium to much fanfare but the multi-billion-dollar project means the team needs another venue to call home.

Unlike with some other stadium renovations, the Jaguars will need to vacate TIAA Bank in order for work to begin on the new digs.

One of the possible venues the Jacksonville leadership is considering is the Daytona International Speedway. The Jaguars President opened up about the possibility this week.

“They have had football down there,” Jaguars President Mark Lamping told SI. “The University of Tennessee played at Bristol [Motor Speedway]. And keep in mind, that facility is probably the closest of those three facilities to Jacksonville. From where I live, it’s 60 miles down to Daytona. And they’re used to handling crowds of over 100,000. So the traffic and the parking and all of that, they handle in a major way twice a year with their two NASCAR races.

“So they’re going to be interesting.”

Daytona is a viable option for the Jaguars, but the team is also keeping Gainesville and Orlando in consideration. Gainesville, home of the Florida Gators, and Ben Hill Griffin Stadium can easily accommodate Jaguars fans and visitors for Sunday game days. Orlando’s Camping World Stadium can fit roughly 60,000 as well.

Limited in-town options for Jaguars

Driving even an hour out of town could turn off some Jaguars fans so the team is also weighing the in-town options.

One of the other professional teams in the city could offer up their stadium to the NFL team, but it’s not without cost. To turn the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp’s Stadium into a venue that complies with the NFL’s codes for broadcasting, it could cost around $125 million.

“We’ve looked at two temporary solutions in Jacksonville,” he says. “There’s a Triple A baseball stadium we could add 20,000 seats to. There’s a track and field stadium at the University of North Florida we could add 20,000 seats to. That’d get us to a capacity of 30,000, which would be very similar to what the Chargers did when they were waiting for SoFi.”

Stadium renovations to attract marquee events

Lamping argues the Jags’ renovations are necessary to attract significant events such as the College Football Playoff to town.

“Quite honestly, that’s what’s needed in Jacksonville,” Lamping said. “We have aspirations to attract many other significant events such as the College Football Playoff championship game, for example. To win an event like that, you must have things for people to do before, during and after the event, plus places to stay, because the experience extends to well beyond what’s inside the stadium.”