The doors will officially open at the Jacksonville Jaguars' new football facility next week.
The grand opening of the Miller Electric Center will take place Tuesday morning with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, with Jaguars Owner Shad Khan, Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan and Jaguars Head Coach Doug Pederson all on hand for the momentous day for the franchise's football operations.
"A public-private partnership between the Jaguars and the City of Jacksonville, the $120 million Miller Electric Center is a state of the art 125,000 square-foot facility that will house the team’s football operations including locker rooms, training and medical facilities, office space and a draft room. It will include two full-size grass practice fields and one indoor field, along with shaded public viewing stands, concession areas and a team store," the Jaguars said.
The Jaguars have previously held all football operations inside TIAA Bank Field and for the last two seasons have used the actual stadium for in-season practices. Due to the construction of the facility last training camp, the Jaguars held camp off-site at a local high school.
Now, though, the Jaguars' new football hub will be open and ready for the Jaguars to make it home for this year's camp and beyond.
“Man, I tell ya, I think just having our own space, being out from under the stadium, and this has been a great space, obviously since the mid-90s, but to have our own building, a place that guys can really I think call home,” Pederson said earlier this offseason. “And even from the standpoint of the offseason where once the season ends, they don’t have to go other places. We’re still in Jacksonville, Florida. The weather’s good in February, March, and April. And guys want to stay here and use the building. And that part I think is going to be the exciting part.
"And then just, I think having the meeting space, the office space, we kind of joke and kid a lot about the windows and be able to see outside and the fresh air and things like that. I mean those things make a difference and it makes it easier too when you can just step right out onto two beautiful practice fields. You’ve got a great indoor facility over there and you know, can get a lot more work done. And I think that’s the thing that’s probably the most exciting."
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