JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With a concert less than a week away, the big question many have been asking is whether the Daily's Place amphitheater connected to EverBank Field will be open as scheduled this weekend.
The concert venue being built in front of the Jacksonville Jaguars' stadium is scheduled to open Saturday for its first concert: Tedeschi Trucks Band with John Cleary. Limited tickets are still available for that show and the Sunday Train concert with O.A.R. and Natasha Bedingfield. The Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds show Tuesday is sold out.
IMAGES: Sky 4 drone looks down on Daily's Place construction
The facility is designed to seat 5,500 people and play host to concerts on Saturday nights before home games. It will also be another venue used for big events like the Florida-Georgia game. The project broke ground last August.
Jaguars front office staff said crews are putting the finishing touches on the concert hall this week, just in time for the first events this weekend.
Crews were seen testing the fire alarms in the facility on Monday.
From the outside, it looks like there’s a lot of work left to do, leading many people to question if it’ll open on time.
But Jaguars staff assured News4Jax the venue will be ready for Saturday.
The Sky 4 drone captured a bird's-eye view of the nearly $45 million project, which took an estimated 250,00 man hours to build.
So far, there are 27 shows booked with more to come. If all works as planned, the facility will feature 35 to 40 events each year.
Street performer Benjamin Purdy, who anticipates performing outside the new venue, said he's excited about having another attraction to bring people to downtown Jacksonville.
“I've been doing this for over 20 years and I have seen it go from like this to like that, and it is beautiful,” he said. “I love it.”
The Jaguars said they will give media a behind-the-scenes tour and let us talk with President Mark Lamping on Wednesday about the progress.
The Daily’s Place facility will also house the Jaguars’ flex practice field, but construction for that is scheduled to be completed in a few more weeks.