Ameliatwinz said...

 

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Posted 19 January 2016 - 04:32 AM

<div>1.  There is no denying Kahn has been great for Jacksonville and the Jags......................with that being said though the City of Jacksonville has rolled out the red carpet for him as far as financial support. Yes it was bed tax but the city put out over $50 million towards the score boards, pools, renovations and wifi at the stadium.


When the Shipyards project hiccuped Kahn jumped to the Stadium project in a flash and again the city will contribute another $50 million of bed tax revenue.


2.  The city has given up any rights to Stadium naming revenue and I believe the new amphitheater will be under the Jags control with Kahn receiving the revenue stream from that facility.


3.  The city still has unfinished business with the Landing, Metro Park, and the Shipyards project. All three of these are going to have considerable costs associated with their future plans.


Like I said Kahn has been great for the team and fans but in all honesty from someone who has been in the area for better than 30 years I do not see any improvements downtown as far as growth and increased people presence.


it's great having an entertainment district adjacent to the stadium but without bars and resturants within walking distance you still have a venue where people come and go after the event.


We are turning a corner and while it is not going to happen overnight, the gameday experience is slowly going to diminish as technology and the comfort of your home (and cost) are going to trump seeing it live.


Just my two cents.................and for what it is worth the stadium upgrades have been great..........but am I the only one who thinks the pools are a little tacky?


One last thing, Kahn has made this is own personal pet project (stadium) and I don't think he would ever move the team. It is going to take awhile to build fan base though, when you see more Gator and Bulldog gear on people you know you have work to do.
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1.  I don't understand your dismay over the use of bed tax funds to fund these improvements.  According to the T-U...

 

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By Florida law, the city's hotel bed tax cannot be used to pay for the daily operations of City Hall such as police, fire, and libraries.  But the bed tax can be used for sports and entertainment venues.  The city collects a six (6) percent bed tax.  One third of that goes toward tourism promotion, one third is dedicated to paying debt towards the construction of the stadium, and the other one third goes toward a trust fund for the upkeep and improve at the stadium, arena, and baseball park.

http://jacksonville.com/sports/football/...-should-be

 

According to this, utilizing the bed tax revenue for these stadium projects, including the amphitheater, is consistent with the legislative intent in passing this bed tax in the first place.  Taking this at face value, such expenditures are completely consistent with local and state law.

 

2.  Prior to the Jaguars' arrival, the City of Jacksonville never pursued stadium naming rights.  With only two "major" events there a year, there was little to no incentive to do so.  With the new amphitheater, more concerts and better should come to town, which is consistent with the promoting of tourism.

 

3.  Yes, the city has unfinished business with those three areas, all of which were not caused or exacerbated by the Jaguars generally or Khan's ownership of the Jaguars and his stadium improvements specifically.  In fact, you could argue that if Khan goes through with his plans to develop the Shipyards, not only will the city's costs to clean the Shipyards be realized over the long term with the taxes generated by businesses in the shipyards development, but the landing could finally become viable as originally envisioned.

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