City Does not Know how it will fund its share of $63 million for Everbank

[mtraininjax]

Diane - I am not smart enough to make up stuff - I saw this in the Times Union Story and it came from the Horse's, er Mayor's mouth and was quoted in the TU.

The city would install the "world's largest" video boards at the end zone sides of the stadium, seven LED board displays around the stadium, and a fan zone with swimming pools in the north end of EverBank Field.

"This is a game-changer," Brown said in the stadium's West Touchdown Club. "This is what I mean when I say taking Jacksonville to the next level."

Brown and the Jaguars unveiled the stadium makeover in June, but Brown didn't fill in the blanks on the financing until Wednesday.

http://jacksonville.com/sports/football/jaguars/2013-10-02/story/video-boards-other-everbank-field-upgrades-should-be#ixzz2gqaE9we4

[strider]

Diane - I am not smart enough to make up stuff - I saw this in the Times Union Story and it came from the Horse's, er Mayor's mouth and was quoted in the TU.

The city would install the "world's largest" video boards at the end zone sides of the stadium, seven LED board displays around the stadium, and a fan zone with swimming pools in the north end of EverBank Field.

"This is a game-changer," Brown said in the stadium's West Touchdown Club. "This is what I mean when I say taking Jacksonville to the next level."

Brown and the Jaguars unveiled the stadium makeover in June, but Brown didn't fill in the blanks on the financing until Wednesday.

http://jacksonville.com/sports/football/jaguars/2013-10-02/story/video-boards-other-everbank-field-upgrades-should-be#ixzz2gqaE9we4

Can someone please tell Mayor Brown that "If you build it , they will come" only works in the movies? If the team is the worst team in the league, having the biggest and best screens still won't fill the stadium.

Maybe we can find out who owns the company slated to get the contracts to do the work?  Who's connected to whom?

[urbanlibertarian]

Instead of spending tax dollars to improve the stadium for the NFL (doesn't need or deserve government subsidies) and the other events there why not sell the stadium to Mr. Khan or a third party and have it privately owned and generating property tax revenue.  COJ should not be in the football stadium business.

[carpnter]

Diane - I am not smart enough to make up stuff - I saw this in the Times Union Story and it came from the Horse's, er Mayor's mouth and was quoted in the TU.

The city would install the "world's largest" video boards at the end zone sides of the stadium, seven LED board displays around the stadium, and a fan zone with swimming pools in the north end of EverBank Field.

"This is a game-changer," Brown said in the stadium's West Touchdown Club. "This is what I mean when I say taking Jacksonville to the next level."

Brown and the Jaguars unveiled the stadium makeover in June, but Brown didn't fill in the blanks on the financing until Wednesday.

http://jacksonville.com/sports/football/jaguars/2013-10-02/story/video-boards-other-everbank-field-upgrades-should-be#ixzz2gqaE9we4

Can someone please tell Mayor Brown that "If you build it , they will come" only works in the movies? If the team is the worst team in the league, having the biggest and best screens still won't fill the stadium.

Maybe we can find out who owns the company slated to get the contracts to do the work?  Who's connected to whom?

I think the Mayor is referring to attracting games for the new college playoff system

[edjax]

^^Exactly!! Actually seemed kind of obvious. 

[Cheshire Cat]

Diane - I am not smart enough to make up stuff - I saw this in the Times Union Story and it came from the Horse's, er Mayor's mouth and was quoted in the TU.

The city would install the "world's largest" video boards at the end zone sides of the stadium, seven LED board displays around the stadium, and a fan zone with swimming pools in the north end of EverBank Field.

"This is a game-changer," Brown said in the stadium's West Touchdown Club. "This is what I mean when I say taking Jacksonville to the next level."

Brown and the Jaguars unveiled the stadium makeover in June, but Brown didn't fill in the blanks on the financing until Wednesday.

http://jacksonville.com/sports/football/jaguars/2013-10-02/story/video-boards-other-everbank-field-upgrades-should-be#ixzz2gqaE9we4

Thanks for giving me the background and context of the statement.  I felt before his election that Brown's idea of what taking us to another level was had nothing to do with anything more than a fluff approach to serious problems.  I guess it was still a shock for me to see that he would be "dumb" (yes dumb imo) enough to verbalize his lack of depth and understanding.  Nothing against the Jags or the fact that they are smart enough to get what they want from the city.  This is all on Brown and his inability to lead or even begin to understand what it really takes to have Jacksonville reach another level that actually means something positive.  A flashy new scoreboard isn't even on the radar when it comes to making a real difference in Jacksonville. 

[mtraininjax]

Instead of spending tax dollars to improve the stadium for the NFL (doesn't need or deserve government subsidies) and the other events there why not sell the stadium to Mr. Khan or a third party and have it privately owned and generating property tax revenue.  COJ should not be in the football stadium business.

+1 - It takes guts to have an original idea on this board. I felt the same way when he bought the team. He makes the improvements to the locker room and weight room, why not just sell the damn stadium to him and get out of the business and use the money to help pay down the pension mess? Ah, but we're city leaders, we think we know how to build roads and manage our stadiums better than people who do it for a living can do it. Ugh, caveman mentality!

Diane - I think Brown was backed into a corner. Khan is pushing Brown into a corner with every upgrade. The Mayor can either come out in a positive manner or he can decline, giving Khan ammunition to leave Jax and make waves. Its almost time for re-election, the lesser of the two evils, while still evil, is to use bedroom tax money for the improvements, rather than throw gasoline on the fire of "OMG, they are leaving and going to London because you did not authorize bedroom tax money for hottubs and the worlds largest scoreboard". Sad that the average Jax Mentality thinks this, but its true.

I saw on CBS Evening news yesterday that Jerry Jones has the most valuable NFL franchise, worth 2.6 BILLION in revenue. He tore down Texas Stadium, built his own. Khan could do the same thing, tear up the city contract and build his own in Ponte Vedra or Nocatee, just outside of the city reach, but why bother, he has a city on the hook to  keep him and he pays a little, the city pays the majority and he may throw in a new locker room or weight room, maybe even new speakers and sound system. Brown cannot win this chess game with Khan, all he can do is play the lessor of the two evils in his choices.

[Noone]

Hmm, this was the tax source that was mentioned as possibly funding a new convention center on the old courthouse site back during the Peyton administration.  So where are the backers of that project now?

Also wasn't bed tax money used after Super Bowl XXXIX to subsidize the millions that was supposed to have been raised in the private funding efforts for the private parties? What was that amount? As I recall Elaine Brown was then council president.

Welcome any clarification with that.

[Noone]

Instead of spending tax dollars to improve the stadium for the NFL (doesn't need or deserve government subsidies) and the other events there why not sell the stadium to Mr. Khan or a third party and have it privately owned and generating property tax revenue.  COJ should not be in the football stadium business.

+2
Where are we with the Equestrian Center? How much of the $5,000,000 in private funding has been raised that was part of BJP?

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

I saw on CBS Evening news yesterday that Jerry Jones has the most valuable NFL franchise, worth 2.6 BILLION in revenue. He tore down Texas Stadium, built his own. Khan could do the same thing, tear up the city contract and build his own in Ponte Vedra or Nocatee, just outside of the city reach, but why bother, he has a city on the hook to  keep him and he pays a little, the city pays the majority and he may throw in a new locker room or weight room, maybe even new speakers and sound system. Brown cannot win this chess game with Khan, all he can do is play the lessor of the two evils in his choices.

I'd like to point out that the city of Arlington was on the hook for a capped amount around $325M for the stadium ($1.2B total cost) - They used that number when the original projected cost was around $650M, so Jerry was expecting the city to pay for 1/2. 

http://stadiumblog.dallasnews.com/2010/04/the-cost-of-cowboys-stadium-ha.html
                   

[carpnter]

CBS 47 had a story last night about the cost of the improvements and what it would mean for things like the convention center.  They kept teasing it during prime time last night and IMO it is very weak when it comes to actual reporting, but here it is.

http://www.actionnewsjax.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoId=4434458&navCatId=20896

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

CBS 47 had a story last night about the cost of the improvements and what it would mean for things like the convention center.  They kept teasing it during prime time last night and IMO it is very weak when it comes to actual reporting, but here it is.

http://www.actionnewsjax.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoId=4434458&navCatId=20896

Sorry, I didn't watch the link. 

Another thing that I'd like to ask everyone is why is all the push on the Jags regarding financing for the stadium?  I mean, isn't it owned by the city?  Don't the Jags pay a lease to the city?  Isn't the stadium available for other events throughout the year that would be using the same amenities? 

If generating revenue to help pay for upgrades is such an issue, shouldn't more of an onus be applied to the company that actually manages the stadium and not one of the major tenants?

I mean, I realize it's not a popular topic, but IMO, we should be grateful for the millions that Kahn is putting into the stadium.  (and the city in general, but that's a completely different topic)  He has done the upgrades to benefit HIS team out of his own pocket - locker room, training room, weight room, etc....  He's contributing to upgrades that will benefit ALL of the tenants who use the stadium.  Where's the problem?

[mtraininjax]

He's contributing to upgrades that will benefit ALL of the tenants who use the stadium.  Where's the problem?

I think everyone is grateful for Mr. Khan and all he has done and is doing for the City and the improvements for the stadium. Its not everyday you can see the most amazing locker room for a team that, based on its on field performance, deserves such rich amenities. Improvements to the weight room and locker rooms benefit football teams. A new sound system and now video boards and hot tubs will benefit those inside the stadium. The Air Conditioning systems will be the next things in need of improvement as they are not efficient at all for September games.

How many events are held at Everbank Field each year? 9-10 Jags games, GA/FL, Gator Bowl, Monster Truck Jam, a motorcross, a concert here or there. Yes, the city owns and uses SMG to manage the stadium for it and put on the events. When the stadium was built in 1994, the city contributed $60 million to help with the new construction price tag of $134 million.

So if the Jags paid almost 55% of the original investment, why is it such a good deal now for the Jags to only pay 33% for something that really benefits them? I think its a fair question to ask as Khan has flaunted his wealth around town, why are we as taxpayers being asked to pickup more cost than in the past?

Is spending almost 5% worth of the City's budget on a sports venue that hosts 14 events every year, the BEST use of taxpayer money? I would say yes, if we could double the number of events hosted in the stadium, but my 1st guess is that SMG will continue to do its normal lousy job of attracting new business for the stadium and funds that would go to other facilities will be dumped into this one.

Remember how nice the video boards at Everbank look when that chunk of brick from the Arena hits you in the head.

[Dapperdan]

This is only a  game changer until the next new stadium is built. Ask Houston how their big boards are doing for them this year about to be eclipsed by us next year? I guess the NFL business is literally all about keeping up with the Jones's. I think the city should be fairly asked where this puts our convention center plans? if this derails that, then it was not a good use of money. Convention business would have been year round and would tremendously impact the downtown area. I am not sure video boards do the same.

[thelakelander]

^Of course it derails that, since the funding comes from the pot of money most ideal for helping cover the capital cost of a new center.  However, one can argue that we never had any convention center plans anyway.  No commitment of building a new convention center was ever made by this or the previous administration.