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Orlando is reportedly getting an NFL team, albeit on a temporary basis.
As reported by the Orlando Sentinel's Mike Bianchi, the Jacksonville Jaguars have decided to spend the 2027 season at the city's 60,000-seat Camping World Stadium as the team's permanent home undergoes a planned $1.4 billion renovation.
A Jags spokesperson would not confirm Bianchi's reporting, instead telling Daily Mail the Jags 'continue to work through the process of identifying a location and presenting that recommendation to the NFL owners for a vote.'
The spokesperson added: 'It is our hope we have an answer soon rather than later.'
Bianchi described that vote as more of a rubber stamp than a real hurdle.
The league did not resolve the issue at last month's NFL owners meeting in Manhattan. As Jags president Mark Lamping told Bianchi, he believes the issue wasn't a major priority for the league.
Orlando's Camping World Stadium before the Vrbo Citrus Bowl game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Kentucky Wildcats in 2022. The Stadium could be the Jags' home in 2027
Both the City of Jacksonville and the Jaguars are putting in $625million for renovations to the stadium, which will include a canopy over the crowd and field
'As far as the league is concerned, I don't know that they put as much of a priority on this as we would like them to,' Lamping told Bianchi. 'We wish the time frame [on the decision] would be earlier, but that's because our fans want to know and the people in Orlando want to know.'
Daily Mail has reached out to the NFL for comment.
According to Bianchi, both Orlando officials and the University of Florida have been notified of the plan. The team had been considering playing at the Gators' stadium in Gainesville, but that no longer appears to be an option for a team reportedly set on Orlando.
'The Jaguars won't be playing here,' a U of F source told Bianchi. 'They'll be playing in Orlando.'
One potential issue with the Jaguars playing in Gainesville was a planned $400 million renovation beginning in April of 2027.
Currently, Camping World Stadium in Orlando – a facility built in 1936 for $115,000 – is completing its own $400 million renovation.
Unlike Gainesville, a college town of about $141,000, Orlando is a major travel hub and tourist destination thanks to various local theme parks.
One drawback is travel. While Gainesville is just X hours from Jacksonville, Jags fans will need to travel two hours south to reach Mickey Mouse's neighborhood.
The Jaguars' new home will have larger concourses and added seating capacity
The Jaguars' home field will continue to play host to the Florida-Georgia annual rivalry game
Renovations on the Jaguars' EverBank Stadium began February, and while the team is continuing to play there through the 2026 season, seating capacity will be reduced next year.
Both the City of Jacksonville and the Jaguars are putting in $625million for renovations to the stadium, which will include a canopy over the crowd and field.
The proposal includes a 30-year lease, a non-relocation agreement and a provision that limits the number of games the Jaguars can play outside Jacksonville.
Under the new lease, the Jaguars would play all preseason and postseason home games in Jacksonville and would continue to play one home game a year in London, likely at Wembley Stadium.
Capacity could be expanded to 71,500 to accommodate the annual Florida-Georgia rivalry, the Gator Bowl, a College Football Playoff game or the Final Four. Pools and a party deck would remain in the north end zone.
The city and the Jaguars still hope to add substantial development to the surrounding area, which is expected to include a University of Florida satellite campus that would bring in 10,000 graduate students.
The city and the team consider the areas surrounding the stadium critical to the long-term success of Jacksonville's downtown.
