Disputes continue in Jacksonville City Hall, including about the time-honored practice of free tickets to Jaguars and Jumbo Shrimp games and other significant cultural events.
A document compiled by the City Council says the vast majority of complementary entries of late went to the office of Mayor Donna Deegan, a function of the Mayor’s Office receiving and distributing the tix.
While this practice didn’t begin in the Deegan administration, it’s been spotlighted this year, as the Republican-controlled legislative branch has battled with the Democratic chief executive.
The premium portfolio offerings, of course, are for NFL games. And the Mayor’s Office and invited guests scored five out of every six of the nearly 600 tix doled out in 2025. That’s up from 2024’s 62%.
The Mayor’s Office also got 97% of the 6,726 tickets for events at VyStar Arena, 87% of the 260 for Daily’s Place, 84% for events at the Performing Arts Center, 90% of the EverBank Field events not including the Jaguars, and 99% of the Jumbo Shrimp ticket distributions.
Custody of tickets, as we noted in this week’s Jacksonville Bold, has been a controversy.
City Council President Kevin Carrico has filed an amendment to legislation about ticket distribution that would end the freebies altogether for Jaguars games.
Deegan says she’d like to “look at all tickets for city-owned venues as part of this process.”
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