JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville City Council will hold a special meeting Monday evening to hear community feedback on the proposed Jaguars stadium renovation deal.
One of the big issues around the deal is whether to include a $300 million Community Benefits Agreement.
The $1.4 billion renovation plan is still a work in progress, as city leaders and the Jaguars work to finalize the ins and outs of the deal, raising the question of whether it’s even worth it, from people in the community.
“I mean it would be nice to have some improvement in the stadium. We need some development, you know, anything that is going to support development in the city,” Kunle Elegbede, who supports the stadium renovation, said.
Richard Meyers said he is not so sure about the plan.
“The stadium is big enough, to me it is anyway,” Meyers said. “It’s hard to find a place to live.”
Now, some city leaders are questioning if the $300 million Community Benefits Agreement should be included in the deal.
The CBA would go toward improving the Eastside neighborhood and community parks over the span of 30 years.
That’s why the city wants to hear from the public and is hosting a special meeting on Monday for community feedback.
Long-time resident and downtown business owner, Dmitry Yakimchuk, plans on attending. However, he said he wants to bring up a different concern.
“I definitely want to see a lot of development in downtown Jacksonville, and like I’ve said in the past years, we’ve had a lot of issues with downtown development. And I want to ask if people are being held accountable for the taxpayer dollars being spent on like Shipyards, and the other Berkman Plaza downtown,” Yakimchuk said.
Everyone is invited to voice their opinion about the stadium renovation deal at the city council’s public hearing at 5 p.m. Monday at City Hall.