JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan said selling JEA would be "a terrible idea."
The bombshell comment came after the team's State of the Franchise presentation on Thursday.
“I think it's a terrible idea, OK? JEA should stay the way it is,” Khan said.
“I’ve seen this all over the country, when you have something, really a public entity getting privatized -- doesn't work well with the residents,” he added.
Khan's comments come as the Jacksonville City Council weighs the pros and cons of a sale and works to learn if it would even benefit the city.
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JEA's newly appointed interim CEO, Aaron Zahn, wants to put privatization talks on hold.
On Thursday, Mayor Lenny Curry said he supports that.
“They should not be pursuing this right now, and they need to get back to serving the customers and develop a strategic plan, so they can adjust to the market forces for the future,” Curry said.
Proponents of a sale say it could generate a large sum of cash for the city to spend on things like downtown development.
But not even Khan, the development guru, can get behind that.
“Nobody’s asked me, but I think it ought to stay the way it is,” Khan said. “There’s plenty more for the city to do and the council to do.”