JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday set aside $75 million for a new satellite campus in Jacksonville when he signed the state’s record $117 billion budget.
UF has plans to build a $100 million financial technology graduate school somewhere in downtown Jacksonville. Although officials haven’t said where it will be, they have said it would be a 15-acre campus expected to handle about 10,000 grad students with a focus on healthcare business, engineering and artificial intelligence.
MORE: New $100M UF satellite campus could be coming to Jacksonville, focus on AI, medical technology
“Today, Jacksonville secured some serious wins in the upcoming State Budget. My team has worked extremely hard to secure local and state dollars to keep Jacksonville on the rise. Thank you, Governor DeSantis, for supporting our growth and funding these important projects. With this strong support from the state, these projects will continue to impact Jacksonville citizens for decades to come,” Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said in a statement.
Jacksonville Jaguars President Mark Lamping has made it clear that the Jaguars and owner Shad Khan want UF to build the new campus at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds downtown next to TIAA Bank Field. Khan’s development company bought the fairgrounds last year but no plans were announced for what would go there. The fair is now preparing to move to Jacksonville’s Westside next to the Jacksonville Equestrian Center on Normandy Boulevard.
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“If the University of Florida chooses the fairgrounds site in the sports complex for their graduate campus, Shad in addition to already donating $5 million to that cause, will donate that 14 acres to the University of Florida to help make that possible,” Lamping said.
Lamping told News4JAX he thinks adding the campus to the area, in addition to the dramatic renovations of the stadium and the potential addition of a sports entertainment district at Lot J, will spur development in the area and help build a downtown that can be an economic engine.
For now, the Jaguars plan to use the downtown fairgrounds site for parking.
The Jacksonville City Council in March voted to approve millions of dollars toward the UF campus.
Councilman Al Ferraro was the only person who voted “no” on the approval of funds. Council voted in favor of approving $20 million as critics complain there aren’t enough details on the project yet.
JEA is also pushing for the campus to be built in Springfield and has offered UF $10 million worth of services.
Furthering the connection with UF, the Jaguars are also exploring the possibility of playing home games at UF’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. If the city and the team come to an agreement on the $2 billion renovation and development plan, the team would need to find a place to play for two years while the work is happening and UF, Orlando and Daytona Beach have all been talked about as options.
