JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville activist group said Thursday it is strongly against the city’s multi-million dollar plan to renovate EverBank Stadium, home of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In a news release, the Northside Coalition said it is also against a potential $1 billion plan to move the Duval County Jail out of downtown to a new campus facility somewhere else in the county unless the city plans to invest millions in improving the Northwest and Eastside of Jacksonville along with other parts of the city it says are neglected.
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“It is mind-boggling that public officials want to spend $775 million on a renovated football stadium and $1 billion on a new jail when the broken promises of consolidation are still hanging over their heads. The ‘Community Benefits Agreement’ is the best part of the stadium contract, but many millions more must be invested in underserved areas,” said Kelly Frazier, President of the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville. “We call for an ‘Even Better Jacksonville’ plan, one that would include millions for neglected parts of the city. If the city wants a luxury item like a renovated stadium along with a new jail, it must agree to massive investments in underserved areas to help make up for the sins of the past that still haunt us today.”
Frazier is referencing the troubled history of the consolidation of Jacksonville, which is detailed in a 2020 piece by Florida Times-Union Metro Columnist titled ”The broken promise that broke Jacksonville.”
Northside Coalition encouraged all residents to attend the upcoming community meetings where Jaguars and city leaders are set to discuss the stadium deal. (To see the information that was presented at the first huddle on Wednesday, visit jacksonville.gov.)
The community will again have a chance to weigh in on the plan for a 50-50 split of the $1.4 billion “Stadium of the Future” renovation project at a “huddle” Thursday night in Northwest Jacksonville.
As a part of the deal, the city is committing millions of dollars to initiatives that can enhance the city, including addressing affordable housing, workforce development, homelessness and parks.
Thursday’s meeting is the second of five “community huddles” around the city designed to get public input on the funding proposal for the EverBank Stadium renovation project.
According to Mayor Donna Deegan, Jaguars President Mark Lamping and Mike Weinstein, who presented the deal to the City Council on Tuesday, the city’s $625 million portion will be factored into the annual budget across the next four years and won’t include a tax increase for residents.
The city also agreed to pay $150 million, if a new deal is signed, for maintenance and upkeep, bringing Jacksonville’s total investment to $775 million, and the overall price to $1.4 billion.
News4JAX asked Lamping what he thought about residents opposing the city spending money on the stadium. He said the decision isn’t his to make.
“If you’re asking what my particular opinion what I would say to them, I would say you’re really fortunate because there were 20 people that were going to determine whether this was going to happen: the 19 council members and the mayor, now there’s only 19. So ultimately, that decision on the taxpayer money that goes into this is not going to be made by me. It’s not going to be made by anyone from the Jaguars. It’s going to be made by 19 elected officials,” Lamping said.
During a Tuesday City Council meeting, Deegan, Lamping and Weinsten laid out numbers, a timeline, what taxpayers will be on the hook for and the two stadiums where the Jaguars could play during the renovation season, which would come in 2027.
Almost all of the city’s investment will come from stretching the Better Jacksonville Plan out until 2030 and using those funds to help fund the renovation. The Better Jacksonville Plan was a half-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2000, a $2.25 billion program set to improve things like roads, infrastructure, development and public facilities.
At the earliest, the council, which must approve any plan before it can move forward, is expected to vote on the stadium deal on June 25, after the community has provided feedback at the “huddles.”
The NFL owners would then need to sign off on the plan approved by City Council.
