The Jacksonville City Council agreed Tuesday to hire Michael Huyghue to represent their interests in negotiations with the Jacksonville Jaguars on a massive stadium renovation project, according to the Florida Times-Union.
Huyghue, 61, was once a senior vice president of the Jaguars, joining the team in 1994 prior to its first games as an expansion franchise. He left the Jaguars in 2001 to begin his own business as a sports and entertainment agent. Huyghue later served as commissioner of the short-lived United Football League.
“While my relationship has been long-standing in the NFL, in many cases, it has been on the opposite side of the table,” Huyghue said at the council meeting Tuesday, via the Times-Union. “I have a very good relationship with them. And that gives me an inside seat to be able to understand some of the inner workings that I think I will bring to this position.”
Newly elected Jacksonville mayor Donna Deegan is reportedly in the process of hiring a consultant of her own for the stadium talks.
In June, the Jaguars revealed the first renderings of their vision for a renovated TIAA Bank Field (soon to become EverBank Stadium). Team president Mark Lamping has said the project will likely come with a price tag of about $2 billion and the Jaguars will ask the City of Jacksonville, who owns the stadium, to cover about half the cost.
