JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An Eastside Jacksonville business owner and a city councilman are excited about the new Jaguars stadium agreement.
NFL owners voted unanimously to approve the stadium deal between the Jaguars and the City of Jacksonville on Tuesday, clearing the way for the Stadium of the Future to become a reality.
The deal was designed to keep the Jaguars playing in Jacksonville for at least the next three decades.
A big part of that endeavor goes beyond the stadium and into the community, especially Out East.
Miss Cookie has owned her restaurant on A. Phillip Randolph for 11 years. There’s a special reason she’s followed this deal so closely.
“I will be one of the first small businesses from the Eastside community to have a concession stadium inside the Stadium of the Future so it’s very important for me that this deal goes through, not only for me, but for my community so I can create more opportunities for these people around here,” Miss Cookie said.
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The Eastside will undeniably see some of the biggest benefits with economic development leading the way.
The agreement includes:
- $40 million for the Eastside over seven years
- $40 million for the county over 15 years
- $1 million for each of the 14 council districts
Councilman Jimmy Peluso’s district includes the Out East community. He also vice-chaired the Special Committee overseeing the Community Benefits Agreement.
He said the one thing that’s important to him is making sure the money is used correctly to uplift the neighborhood, not gentrify it.
“This deal, to me, is going to be the benchmark and what sociologists and political sciences are going to be studying, what urban planners are going to be studying is how to make sure we don’t push out the residents that currently live out there,” Peluso said. “Everyone is going to look back at, ‘Wow, Jacksonville really did that right,’ Let’s emulate that here in Milwaukee or Denver or Vegas or whatever else. They’re going to look at this as a model.”
Having grown up Out East and her family living there going back three generations, Miss Cookie said she’s ready to see promises being fulfilled and her neighborhood come to life.
“We’ve seen a lot, we’ve survived a lot and overcame a lot,” Miss Cookie said. “It’s just time now to experience something that is meant for us. Hey, we’re part of the Eastside. The Jaguars is a part of the Out East community, so we’re just here to support it and do whatever we can.”
Peluso said there is lots of prep work to be done Out East through the work of the Eastside Coalition. He said that includes simple things like looking at property taxes and deeds.
Construction is slated to begin in early 2025.
How do you feel about the stadium deal? Let us know below.
