It’s official: Orlando is getting an NFL team — if only for one season.
At its annual league meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, the NFL owners unanimously chose Orlando’s Camping World Stadium as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ temporary home for the 2027 NFL season while its home stadium is being renovated.
Orlando-area officials, including Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, joined a public watch party in front of City Hall on Tuesday to report the decision live with a DJ and two free food trucks.
On a 16-foot screen, Jaguars owner Shahid Khan announced the news, to confetti cannons, smoke machines and a chorus of cheers from the several dozen attendees.
“We think the end result will be not only great for Jaguar fans, but very positive for those that come visit Orlando from not just Jaguar fans but visiting fans,” Team President Mark Lamping said during Tuesday’s live announcement. “And we couldn’t be more excited about this transition here, and are looking forward to being there tomorrow.”
Cheerleaders and a drum line quickly filed out from City Hall to join in the festivities.
The Jaguars’ EverBank Stadium is undergoing a $1.4 billion renovation project that is expected to be complete in time for the 2028 NFL season. But for the 2027 season, the Jags will play home games at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
Orlando’s stadium is undergoing renovations, too. At the end of 2024, the Orange County Commission approved $400 million in tourism development taxes to overhaul and modernize Camping World Stadium. Orange County levies a 6% tourism development tax on hotel rooms and short-term rentals to help fund tourism projects.
The Camping World Stadium work is set to be completed by the summer of 2027 — just in time for the Jaguars to move in.
Tuesday’s decision didn’t come out of nowhere. Last spring, the County Commission allocated $11 million in tourism development taxes to convince the Jaguars to relocate to Orlando, expecting to generate about $20 million in local spending per game from Jacksonville fans and tourists across Florida.
One commissioner, Kelly Martinez Semrad, said she was skeptical that the Jaguars relocation would attract enough tourists to cover the cost. The team’s own research indicated that it already has a large fan base in Orlando, which could translate to less hotel and short-term rental use than advocates forecast.
Semrad ended up casting the only vote against the funding.
At the watch party on Tuesday, fans were ecstatic to hear the news, looking forward to a 20-minute drive to home games instead of two hours on the road.
Sam Stockbridge
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Central Florida Public Media
ans cheered in front of Orlando City Hall on Tuesday evening as Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan, center, announced that Orlando’s Camping World Stadium would host his team during the 2027 NFL season.