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<p style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Admittedly I am not as familiar with the politics involved with any downtown plans, as I haven't lived in Jacksonville since I was a teenager. I do, however, organize and plan conferences for the company I work for and I can tell you that the main two considerations of picking a place to hold a conference is:

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<p style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">a) Proximity to the airport. 

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<p style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Neither the Shipyards or the Prime Osbourne are close to the airport. Push.

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<p style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">2) Restaurant, shopping, and lodging (if the conference doesn't take place in a hotel) within a walk-able distance from the convention venue.

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<p style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">If even 5% of the projected Shipyards design comes to be, it will offer significant advantages over the Prime Osbourne's location.

 

 

I am very familiar with the politics here, and that good old boy network that used to have a stranglehold over the downtown area has lost much of its political clout over the past decade.  Where they were able to have SOME influence when the city hosted the Super Bowl, they were dealt a dose of reality then when the city proceeded with an entertainment district along the river front for the game.  They've continued to lose their hold on power as the city becomes more spread out, and the church has started to shrink downtown.  Heck, even FBC has created a satellite church south of town, so they recognize the fact that their influence in downtown is diminishing. 

 

Proximity to the airport isn't a huge deal.  Downtown is less than 20 minutes from the airport via I-95.  So it really is a push.  It's not directly on site with the airport, but it's close enough, and if the options for food, lodging, culture, and entertainment are abundant in and around the shipyards, it becomes a real draw for the convention business they've missed out on. 

 

The Prime Osborne experiment has been a failed effort.  If the city wants to become a player in the convention business, they'll have to move on from that place and go big. 

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