NFL Owners To Elected Officials: Send Money To Fix Up Or To Build New Venues

Evan Weiner

June 14, 2023

FILE - Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan on the field before an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. Over the past 100 years, around 110 men and a handful of women have owned controlling portions of NFL teams. Of that select group, all but two have been white. . (AP Photo/Gary McCullough, File)

Governments are spending billions to help NFL owners have state-of-the-art facilities.

Several National Football League franchise owners are lining up before local and state governments officials looking for money for a new stadium or to renovate an existing stadium. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ ownership is about ready to go before Pittsburgh and Allegheny County officials looking for money to either get a new stadium or getting a major upgrade to the present venue which opened on August 18^th, 2001. The lease between the Steelers’ ownership and the Sports and Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County ends in 2030. Steelers’ ownership now has a point guy for the upcoming negotiations, David Morehouse.

Two National Football League franchises will be getting new stadiums, the Buffalo Bills and the Tennessee Titans. In May, the Maryland Board of Public Works approved the Maryland Stadium Authority’s request to issue $450 million in bonds to fund improvements at the Baltimore Ravens’ stadium. The Ravens’ business will stay at the facility through 2037. The National Football League’s Jacksonville Jaguars’ franchise owner Shad Khan is ready to talk to Jacksonville officials about the future of the franchise’s venue. The Jaguars organization’s lease with the city will be done after the 2029 season. Jacksonville’s newly elected mayor, Donna Deegan recently said, “I’ve spoken with Shad Khan. I believe he wants to be part of that Jacksonville renaissance story. But here’s the bottom line. We have to have someone who is willing to negotiate on behalf of the city. It can’t just be OK, here’s my wallet, I’ll open it and take out what you like.” In Illinois, the Chicago Bears’ ownership group seems to be committed to building a stadium in Arlington Heights but needs tax relief from government officials. Cleveland Browns’ ownership wants either a renovated or new stadium with government money. This is the NFL today.

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