First look at $1.4bn renovation of NFL stadium as fans hit with bad news before 150-mile relocation

Less than two weeks after the Jacksonville Jaguars crashed out of the playoffs, EverBank Stadium has been turned into the construction site.

Owner Shad Khan has launched a $1.4 billion renovation, which aims to create a ‘Stadium of the Future’ for the franchise.

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Work is set to be complete in time for the 2028 season, with major upgrades to the fan experience promised and a new roof canopy completing a modern look.

The Jags have agreed to relocate 150 miles away to Orlando’s Camping World Stadium for the 2027 campaign as the finishing touches are put on Khan’s masterplan.

But bosses have managed to fit the schedule around staying at home in 2026, hence the rush to get going as soon as Trevor Lawrence‘s team were beaten by the Buffalo Bills to end a shot at Super Bowl LX, which fans can watch here.

A video from First Coast News shows excavators ripping seats from the bottom tier with piles of debris piling up.

The lower bowl should be completed when football returns as work shifts to the upper parts of the stadium.

Unfortunately for fans, Garry Smits of the Florida Times-Union reports that capacity will shrink from over 67,000 to around 43,000.

Arguably worse, construction on the North End zone will reportedly “make the cabanas and pools inaccessible to fans.”

Shad Khan admits Super Bowl out of reach

Including a roof on the design would make Jacksonville eligible to host a Super Bowl.

Khan doesn’t think the surrounding infrastructure is in place to make that likely, however.

“Obviously, you design a new stadium, you do it to meet all the needs,” he told talkSPORT’S Will Gavin in an exclusive interview in October . “But a Super Bowl now has really graduated to a event where it needs infrastructure besides the stadium, hotel rooms, infrastructure, and so on, and Jacksonville doesn’t have that.

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“It does have the ability to host other NFL events, maybe the draft, and maybe some other elements, but the city will have to develop before we can be in the mix, but it’s a covered stadium, it’s in Florida, a lot of attributes, but it doesn’t qualify.”

The Jaguars have finally found a winning formula on the field.

Head coach Liam Coen has proved to be an inspired choice, bringing the best out of former No. 1 pick Lawrence at quarterback.

The Jags were ultimately outgunned by Josh Allen‘s Bills, but will have plenty of hope for the future.

General manager James Gladstone traded what has ultimately become the 24th pick in this year’s NFL Draft to the Cleveland Browns to jump up and select Travis Hunter.

The two-way prospect saw his rookie season ended by an LCL tear, which required surgery in October.

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He was still finding his feet at wide receiver and cornerback at the time, with a decision over whether he will continue to play both ways already taken.

“We still expect him to play on both sides of the ball,” Gladstone said in January. “The steps that he was taking by the midpoint of the season really made us feel good about what the back half of the year was going to be on both sides of the ball and what that impact was going to look like being a feature point on offense and an impact player on defense.

“It [the injury] was just disappointing timing but nonetheless feel good about where we are heading into this offseason and what next year should hold.”

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