Khan, Jaguars expect Lot J development to begin early 2020

[Ken_FSU]

^As a guy who fully supports the Lot J project - even though Curry negotiated a bum deal - I'm a hard pass on the Four Seasons project as it's currently been presented.

Even with the wild price tag of Lot J, an argument can be made that it's something that the average Jacksonville citizen can enjoy, it will improve quality of life in the city, and it'll help give the Jags some complimentary business to boost their local revenue and keep them competitive in Jax.

There's just no way, however, that the City Council can justify giving our riverfront public park and up to $126 million in incentives to a billionare to build a mega-luxury playground for the wealthiest out-of-towners.

It's obscene in this economic climate.

Ditto subsidizing a 52,000 square feet orthopedic medical center to help "boost medical tourism" (spoiler: it's the same fad cookie-cutter orthopedic center primariily intended to serve the NFL team that you're seeing pop up in other NFL developments around the country (see: the 52,000 sf orthopedic center at Title Town in Green Bay, the orthopedic center in Viking Village in Minneapolis, etc.).

Monroe's got a great point that we're actively trying to de-park our park when - if Lot J is actually built - it's about to have its best chance to succeed. It's the equivalent of subsidizing all this work on Laura Street and demoing the Landing because it hasn't worked yet.

The ONLY way I'd be in favor of public subsidies for the Four Seasons project would be if:

1) Shad Khan personally paid for a new Veteran's Park to replace our waterfront park that we're presumably giving him either free or deeply discounted (building the park feels like the lowest hanging fruit for Khan too in terms of earning goodwill)

2) The vast majority of subsidies were in the form of rev grants paid out on the back end over several decades

3) The only cash given would be for minor (<$30 million) infrastructure work (extending the riverwalk, building the promenade connecting Lot J to Met Park, etc.).

[thelakelander]

I'd rather provide incentives for Kahn to move the headquarters of Flex-N-Gate to anchor these proposals. At the very least, Talleyrand should be considered for a plant. There's 54 of those globally. That type of investment with job opportunities to residents would be more valuable to Jax taxpayers.

[MusicMan]

Agree Lake, and quite frankly, if the team doesn't improve in a major way no body is gonna want to associate with them anyway.  Watching today, I would not blame any QB who we draft for flat out not signing a contract.  A QB (or any other player for that matter) has to SURVIVE the first 4 years in the league and especially must avoid a major injury to make it into the promised land of hundred million dollar contracts. No guarantee any QB we draft will get that far......

[Ken_FSU]

Kinda silly to see how sentiment toward the Jags swings so wildly back and forth depending on circumstance.

Would be really interesting to see how the results of the UNF poll might change if the Jags land Trevor Lawrence.

Also, looks like Nashville is on the list to get NFL'd next.

Why does this sound familiar?

Last week, the Titans and Mayor John Cooper announced that Metro and the team are engaged in formal discussion regarding the stadium's future. The discussions are said to be aimed at securing the Titans' future in Nashville and to "facilitate the creation of a new Nashville neighborhood surrounding the facility," according to a news release.

The vision for the East Bank neighborhood project is expected to create thousands of jobs and generate millions in new tax revenue annually that would be used to mitigate the city's direct financial burden outlined in the present lease.

"Our biggest priority throughout this process has been to envision a space that Nashvillians would be proud of, built with the community in mind," Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said in a statement last week. "The idea of our stadium in a neighborhood where locals can live, work and enjoy, is something we've been focused on for a long time.

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2020/12/21/titans-nissan-stadium-renovations-east-bank.html

[thelakelander]

^One thing is certain. They won't be the last.

[Peter Griffin]

I had no idea that Nissan had the naming rights for the stadium the Titans play in.

Nissan Stadium, Tennessee Titans

Nissan Titan

That's pretty clever

[blizz01]

Yeah, never understood why Jaguar (manufacturer) didn't jump all over naming rights here way back.  Guess they got off to a rocky start with the threat of lawsuit tied to the original logo....

[fieldafm]

Nissan's North American headquarters, along with two factories, are all located in the Nashville area. Generally, corporate sponsorships of that size usually have a local HQ tie-in.

That being said, many of the Lot J renderings hint at a Toyota sponsorship... which would make sense given that Jacksonville is home to Southeast Toyota Distributors. The other large yacht usually docked Downtown around Florida/Georgia weekend and during a small window in the summer months is that of the Jim Moran/JM Family Enterprises corporate ilk.  Toyota was previously a long-time sponsor of the Gator Bowl, via the SET/JMFE corporate relationship.

[Wacca Pilatka]

^ If I recall correctly, Southeast Toyota was one of Khan's initial Flex-N-Gate customers as well.

[jaxlongtimer]

Yeah, never understood why Jaguar (manufacturer) didn't jump all over naming righted here way back.  Guess they got off to a rocky start with the threat of lawsuit tied to the original logo....

Jaguar was owned by Ford when we got the Jags.  They dumped the company in 2008 (along with Land Rover after buying Jaguar in 1990 and Land Rover in 2000) so it doesn't appear that Jaguar cars were ever front and center for Ford (per Wikipedia, Ford never made a profit on Jaguar which might also add to no interest in naming rights).

I don't think they sell enough Jags to justify the cost of naming a stadium.  Seems stadium names go with more mass/larger market brands or brands trying to break into larger markets.  After almost 100 years, I don't see Jaguar cars ever going there.

[MusicMan]

Flex-n-Gate Stadium?

[Charles Hunter]

Flex-n-Gate Stadium?

Perfect for that annual college game around New Year's - The Flex-n-Gator Bowl

[thelakelander]

Covid is reeking havoc on 4th Street Live! in Downtown Louisville.....

Hard Rock Cafe to close Louisville location permanently

It's another blow for Fourth Street Live!, Louisville's publicly subsidized downtown entertainment district catering tourists and convention-goers.

Bourbon giant Beam Suntory said earlier this month that it would permanently close the Jim Beam Urban Stillhouse, a micro-distillery visitors attraction opened at Fourth Street Live! only five years earlier.

In June, Eddie Merlot's steakhouse, another Fourth Street Live! fixture, closed permanently.

Full article: https://www.wdrb.com/in-depth/hard-rock-cafe-to-close-louisville-location-permanently/article_8bcef180-448e-11eb-bb69-77877f99f319.html?fbclid=IwAR2Kgprl23fY-_mhH1a_rBqOiPFAS9xJ0U6q75duStq9MnnIHl0ad0Bpa-g

[Peter Griffin]

I have a Flex-n-Gate roadside tire change jack in the back of my Nissan Frontier. It was the OEM jack that came with the truck. Thanks, Shad!   

[Snaketoz]

I have a Flex-n-Gate roadside tire change jack in the back of my Nissan Frontier. It was the OEM jack that came with the truck. Thanks, Shad!   

I'm sure it wasn't gratis.