Daytona International Speedway is serious about being the Jaguars home-away-from-home while the team’s home stadium in Jacksonville is undergoing renovations.
Speedway president Frank Kelleher said Daytona has studied the framework and structure of what a potential football setup would look like.
“Myself personally and our team, we’ve spent some time in Jacksonville meeting with their leadership and a variety of follow-up phone calls with architects and engineers and design firms, you know, really looking at our property, our footprint and understanding what is available,” Kelleher said, via Justin Barney of News4Jax.
Last month, Jaguars team president Mark Lamping called playing at Daytona International Speedway “an interesting solution.”
The proposed upgrades to TIAA Bank Field could take up to 30 months, which would necessitate the Jaguars playing their home games elsewhere for the 2026 and 2027 seasons. First, Jacksonville and the city have to come to agreement on the project, which would require $1 billion in taxpayer money.
Daytona International Speedway has hosted football games previously, including a high school game in 1959 and a college game in 1974. Last year, Daytona hosted the Soccer Fest, which put a pitch in the area between the racing track and the infield. The Speedway also has served as host to the major musical festival, “Welcome to Rockville.”
“So, it’s kind of gone from, ‘Yeah, I think we can do non-stick and ball sports at Daytona,’ to ‘Here’s images of what we pulled off and it was a world-class event on a world-class pitch,’” Kelleher said. “So, we absolutely have the acreage and I feel like we offer things that other venues don’t.”
The University of Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and Orlando’s Camping World Stadium are other potential hosts for the Jaguars. But UF just announced $400 million in upgrades to its stadium, and Florida Citrus Sports is looking for $800 million in renovations to its stadium.
Jacksonville offers UNF’s Hodges Stadium, 121 Financial Ballpark and potentially JAXUSL’s still to be built soccer facility, but none is NFL-ready.
Thus, Daytona, which is 89 miles from Jacksonville, might offer the best alternative.
Kelleher called it a “real compelling story” to have the Jaguars play in a speedway that seats over 100,000.
“Neither organization has any time to waste, and it’s a big situation for the Jags to solve. So again, we’re grateful to be in the consideration set,” Kelleher said. “And yes, I mean, the Jags having a conversation with a football stadium, you know, is less wonky, less work than talking with a 2.5-highbank mile race track. However, with that comes a lot of unique opportunities and unique storylines, that, again, from an acreage standpoint and visibility standpoint, we can satisfy and solve and if not bring more than the others can bring.”
