Closing the Equestrian Center????

[Overstreet]

Well I pose this question. What purpose has the Equestrain Center served since it has been there? I have never been there, nor do I ever here  of anything being hosted there? I may sound crazy, but what is it exactly? I may sound Naive. Somebody school me please

pretty major horse shows, and about the best damn public swimming pool in the entire county.  The JTA unfortunately doesnt see fit to run a bus within two miles of this public facility which is pretty much out in the deep westside----so the public doesnt get to use it very much.

I know I would spend a hella lot of time there if there was anyway to get there without a car.

It was a very bright idea to have it out in the middle of no where. This is something that definately should have been in the urban core. Oh well. But thanks for the info stephen

Why do you think horse trails should be in the urban core of Jacksonville?

[Overstreet]

Building it near the sports and entertainment would have made more sense. Then there is the part where the value engineered the HVAC out. Now they makes a ton of sense in Florida!

Don't believe I've ever seen an airconditioned horse barn or horse arena.  The animal barns at the Duval and Clay Fairgrounds are not airconditioned.  Maybe Medevil Knights in Central Florida but not in the real world.

[duvaldude08]

Well I pose this question. What purpose has the Equestrain Center served since it has been there? I have never been there, nor do I ever here  of anything being hosted there? I may sound crazy, but what is it exactly? I may sound Naive. Somebody school me please

pretty major horse shows, and about the best damn public swimming pool in the entire county.  The JTA unfortunately doesnt see fit to run a bus within two miles of this public facility which is pretty much out in the deep westside----so the public doesnt get to use it very much.

I know I would spend a hella lot of time there if there was anyway to get there without a car.

It was a very bright idea to have it out in the middle of no where. This is something that definately should have been in the urban core. Oh well. But thanks for the info stephen

Why do you think horse trails should be in the urban core of Jacksonville?

I have never been to the center, so I have no idea how it is set up. It was just a thought.

[DuvalHusky]

I am not a horse person to be sure. However spectators like HVAC in the dead of summer for equestrian and concerts (yes, concerts). The lack of HVAC has been sighted for the difficulties in booking the venue.

As for trails, the EQ Center has seating for thousands and was intended to be a regional center for equestrian activities. This is tough to do when your rival facilities offer better, climate controlled amenities.

[DuvalHusky]

Trails for horses have little to nothing to do with the EQ center and hosting events.

[Bativac]

I am not a horse person to be sure. However spectators like HVAC in the dead of summer for equestrian and concerts (yes, concerts). The lack of HVAC has been sighted for the difficulties in booking the venue.

As for trails, the EQ Center has seating for thousands and was intended to be a regional center for equestrian activities. This is tough to do when your rival facilities offer better, climate controlled amenities.

I don't know much about competing equestrian centers, but if this is the case, it's another example of Jacksonville doing something half-assed, expressing surprise when the facility is underused, then trying to close it to save a few bucks.

Also along the lines of the community median and landscaping improvements. Put it in but don't think about what it's going to cost to maintain.

[Garden guy]

How could they close such a huge property...sounds like jax though...pour huge amounts of cash into something and then just because things are'nt perfect they close it down...i say we dismantle the jaguar stadium...why not..they rarely win anything...so...lets just close them down and tear down the stadium...

[north miami]

The Cecil Field complex is comprised of thousands of acres of undeveloped woodland,much of it slated to remain so,managed by the Division of Forestry.Cecil Field open space,trails contiguous to Jennings State Forest,Northeast Florida Timberland Reserve and therefore Osceola National Forest/Camp Blanding/OcalaNational
Forest Corridor.(O2O)

Not within 'urban core',certainly our " Green Hedge".

This is an outstanding lifestyle,promotional feature for Jacksonville

A key need for the Center has long passed-a hotdog on a stick to garner Better Jacksonville support.

[cline]

Building it near the sports and entertainment would have made more sense. Then there is the part where the value engineered the HVAC out. Now they makes a ton of sense in Florida!

The center is too large to fit in the stadium district.  It wouldn't fit in the fairgrounds area even if you demolished the parking garage adjacent to the arena and the Jaguars practice field.  As for the HVAC, I believe they hold most of the actual horse shows and events during the spring and fall rather than the middle of summer.  The center is a great asset to Jacksonville.  I swim at the pool quite often and it is a great facility.  It would be a shame to see them close the Equestrian Center.

[fieldafm]

The equestrian center fits great for where it is.  It's in close proximity to an area of the state where horse farms are prevelent and has access to major highways.  Moving it to the urban core is like saying that we should start the Kingfish Tournament at the marina adjacent to River City Brewing Company.

I for one think the best thing the city can do is let the Agricultural Fair takeover the space.  They do a much better job at marketing events than SMG has done booking shows at the Equestrian Center.

I believe they would have that place humming in no time.

The center is a great asset to Jacksonville.

I 100% agree.

[Tacachale]

A couple of things about the equestrian center: 

First, the center has both an Equestrian Center and a Recreation Complex including the pool facility. The council is only talking about shuttering the Equestrian Center.

Second, the plan was not just to build an equestrian center somewhere, it was always to build it out there. It was either there, or it wasn't getting built with by the Better Jacksonville Plan. A huge facility featuring horse arenas, barns, and trailer parking is better suited in a more rural area than it would be in an urban setting. And this isn't really in the middle of nowhere considering what it is, as Field says.

Third, the the city budgeted for the maintenance costs when planning the center, as they did for all public buildings at the time. Additionally, the Northeast Florida Equestrian Society was supposed to raise $5 million to add the barns and other facilities as part of Phase 1. They never came up with the money, and the previous administration never prioritized working a public-private partnership to cover it. They ended up building the barns themselves out of the city's budget. Additionally, they reallocated the maintenance money and other reserves to other things.

Fourth, the council's complaint is NOT that the Equestrian Center is underused (it's not). It's that the city is spending too much annually to keep it open. A fair point in this economy, but it ignores the fact that this situation was and is avoidable.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Which is why I ask again:  Why does there never seem to be any wording in the contracts requiring these 'outside' companies to commit?  How is it that the city is always left on the hook?

I'm referring to what I've read here about the Eq Center and the various Median Upgrades.

[Tacachale]

Well, it wasn't intended to come all from one place, and it wasn't a company, was the Equestrian Society. They've just really dropped the ball, and the administration didn't do anything to see that the slack was picked up (beyond contributing more of the city's own money). And of course they made it worse for themselves in moving the maintenance money.

[Garden guy]

Is the space used by the public schools at all? Are there horse programs at any of the school?...if it's city property should'nt it be used as much as possible?...personally i feel every school should have an AG program and this property is perfect.

[duvaldude08]

Second, the plan was not just to build an equestrian center somewhere, it was always to build it out there. It was either there, or it wasn't getting built with by the Better Jacksonville Plan. A huge facility featuring horse arenas, barns, and trailer parking is better suited in a more rural area than it would be in an urban setting. And this isn't really in the middle of nowhere considering what it is, as Field says.

That's make sense. But what doesnt is how they expected anyone to get all the way there? Jacksonville is HUGE. Does JTA even run anywhere near the center? (is it walking distance from a bus stop atleast)