Jaguars amphitheater, flex field construction to begin next month

[KenFSU]

What? you don't see a difference, look at night rendering for Jan, totally different now and way scaled down

It's a slightly different angle, and yes, the roof is smaller, more structural, and less tarp-on-pipe-cleaners, but a lot of the difference you see in those two night shots was always scheduled to be part of Phase 2 of the development (the pedestrian bridge and plaza in particular). Removing Phase 2, not sure if the differences would be that noticeable without a helicopter.

[thelakelander]

A long way from the original renderings:



Hopefully, no more value engineering or update announcements.  I'm afraid the next design will resemble a church gym on steriods.

[thelakelander]

Oh, and we forgot the most important question. Will there be an on-site Daily's Dash?  You can never have too many places for a cup of coffee when you need some yum on the run.

[KenFSU]

A long way from the original renderings:



Hopefully, no more value engineering or update announcements.  I'm afraid the next design will resemble a church gym on steriods.

For the better, I'd argue. Originally renderings were totally disconnected from the stadium, with a closed off practice facility and a weird amphitheater that looked like it had no seats and was mostly lawn.



Lamping and Populous went back to the drawing board and created an integrated open-air practice facility, an amphitheater with shared infrastructure modeled after Radio City Music Hall, and a bar overlooking Everbank Field. No universe where what we saw today isn't a massive leap forward from what we saw at first. Even if it's viewed as a step back from what we saw in January, we're still talking a genuine game changer for Jacksonville that will cost the city roughly 25% of what Veterans Memorial did and fill a void that's been discussed and debate since Delaney was in office.

It's a good day for the city. Daily's bought naming rights. Construction is on pace for a 9 month turnaround. Khan wants to use his clout to bring the NFL Draft to Jax. Renders look solid, and Lamping and Khan have a reputation of building with wow factor in mind.

Don't get the pessimism.

[jaxjags]

Has anyone seen Green Bay indoor practice field. I have. It is a barn just like a metal  school gym. Plus it is not integrated into the facility. Most teams have "bubble type" buildings. Constructability always goes into every design. Just be glad it's integrated to the filed, Bud Zone and Terrace Suites. Unlimited possibilities for use.

[thelakelander]

Don't get the pessimism.

Oh, I'm just having fun. I'm not losing any sleep or overconcerned about what that thing looks like.  But I do need to know if a Daily's Dash is included. 

[FlaBoy]

There is so much space in the Flex field, you could easily use it for some meetings as well, especially with the amphitheater and Everbank attached. It does make sense for Khan and Jacksonville to have a hotel near the stadium.

[tufsu1]

Has anyone seen Green Bay indoor practice field. I have. It is a barn just like a metal  school gym. Plus it is not integrated into the facility. Most teams have "bubble type" buildings. Constructability always goes into every design. Just be glad it's integrated to the filed, Bud Zone and Terrace Suites. Unlimited possibilities for use.

that's fine...but do you understand that "we the taxpayers" paid for this?  It is in our downtown and we should be demanding better!

[spuwho]

Or take and finish Berkman II as a hotel. That would be like Christmas in July for COJ, Jax's skyline and Berkman's owner.

That brings up a good point. Several Jags night games have used stock blimp footage of the city skyline by the network du jour.

If they update that footage for this year, they will have to do a digital job on the Berkman II.

They can't take a camera to Hemming Plaza to show nightlife, well, because the city refused to support night life. Besides, they might have to do a digital job on the Laura Trio there as well.

OK, so take a blimp out to Mayport, oh wait, they only have 2 frigates out there, nothing to see there either.

Ah I see, take a camera out to the Dames Point! Wait a minute, we will have to digitally remove the empty transfer yard for Jaxport.

I got it, show a boat going under the Acosta Bridge! Yes, um, wait, the lights for the Acosta are broken, so they can't see anything.

OK, OK, I am out of spots, send the blimp over to the Fuller Warren and show the world our traffic, road signs and creativity in original bridge design! It will make FDOT proud.  As of 2016, road building is our biggest industry and we want everyone to know it.

[thelakelander]

On the positive side, at night you would not see the Trio or Berkman. Neither of them have power. From the air downtown would look fine. 

If some street scenes are needed, they can show some spots like Five Points, San Marco Square, St. Johns Avenue or even Jax Beach. 

After all, in Miami they dont show Miami Gardens. They flash to South Beach.

[Rynjny]

Has anyone seen Green Bay indoor practice field. I have. It is a barn just like a metal  school gym. Plus it is not integrated into the facility. Most teams have "bubble type" buildings. Constructability always goes into every design. Just be glad it's integrated to the filed, Bud Zone and Terrace Suites. Unlimited possibilities for use.

that's fine...but do you understand that "we the taxpayers" paid for this?  It is in our downtown and we should be demanding better!

Wait...you're living out in a Jacksonville hotel?

[FlaBoy]

It's a f*cking indoor practice facility. Chill out. It looks fine. If you wanted the city to spend another $20 million in our tax dollars so the thing looked like it was out of TomorrowLand, good for you. It is still an indoor practice facility.

[ProjectMaximus]

^To be fair, the city is shelling out a substantial amount of money on this thing because it's supposed to be much more than a practice facility. Just saying...

[FlaBoy]

The city got an amphitheater with some of the best amenities for an amphitheater in the country. The Jags got a practice facility.

Although, that practice facility is 94,000 square feet. That means it has more exhibition space than the Prime Osborn 

[Tacachale]

The amount the city is spending, $45 million, is roughly equivalent to how much a high quality amphitheater costs. We seem to be getting that, plus a practice field, and stadium improvements, all of which the city owns.

The exterior design does seem to be... lacking. I wish there was more attempt to make it as aesthetically strong as the baseball park, for instance. But, we're getting a lot of bang for our buck. Much more than those big scoreboards, which cost the city roughly as much. Plus, we dodged the bullet of a plan to pay Khan to take the Shipyards from us and keep all tax revenues it generated to build the same uses now filling up this formerly empty flex lot. It's a big net gain.