Nothing.

Fearful suburbanites just make up reasons not to go there. 
Because Jax is so spread out - there are many communities that are 40 minutes or more from downtown, so those folks have a convenience factor to deal with as well. 

It could be a thriving downtown if it didn't have some preposterous stigma and folks had the cojones to venture out from the safety of their far-flung cul-de-sacs and stripmalls. 

Metro Jax is about as far flung as a city can be and it doesn't really have an "urban core."   The newer residential buildings along the waterfront downtown are half empty. People don't want to live there and the dozen or so bars and restaurants seem to have just enough clientele to survive. I make a point to eat and drink downtown at least once a month and I always enjoy it. It's really strange the way folks stay away though.  There's no degree of homelessness or crime that is disproportionate to a city of this size. And the way the river winds through downtown makes it seem even more inviting. I don't understand why folks are so anti-downtown. Makes no sense to me.

Speaking only for myself, it's not fear that keeps me away, I just hate downtown anywhere. Here in Tampa, I'd pass scores of equal or better dining and entertainment establishments to get downtown. My reward for that is hunting for a parking spot and perhaps paying for it depending on the time of the day.

And I always thought it to be absurd to place sporting venues in any downtown area. Downtown areas are typically congested with limited parking. Cramming more vehicles into that area in a small time frame always seems like a bad idea. I'd probably catch some Tampa Bay Lightning games if the arena wasn't downtown. I even avoid concerts that are there. Conversely, I've always liked the location of Raymond James Stadium. I can get in and out of that place with ease.

Yea, I feel ya on that.

If I have to search more than 5 minutes for parking, it's not worth it.

One time I had a dinner scheduled with my girl's family in Riverside. Drove around the restaurant shopping center twice, couldn't find parking, drove home. My girl was pissed but I ain't looking for parking for more than 5 minutes.

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Hoa boy, some things to consider.

1.) Didn't the franchise just win "best stadium experience" in the NFL? That was like 1-2 years ago. I know the "experience" isn't a 100% reflection of the stadium itself, bu it has to be closely related. How can you be voted #1 stadium experience if your stadium was a dump? I can't see how. Shooting t-shirts into the crowd and having your mascot bungee jump from the top row can't make up for a total dumpster stadium. Yea, I understand how having a pool built into the stadium is more of a "cute" move that won't fix a bad venue on its own, but I just don't grasp how you can be voted #1 stadium experience if your stadium is terrible. It doesn't add up.

2.) Heinz Field is newer than Bank and I have not only been to both, but to both regular seats and luxury seats at both stadiums several times. It didn't seem like there was this great chasm between the two. The only major difference between the two was the level/quality of service in the food and beverage of the luxury sections of each, and that has to do with the employees, not the stadium itself. (Jags employees at the food venues were unbelievably slow and seemingly uncaring. It took my wife so long to score some food I was getting ready to go look for her, and it wasn't at halftime or some other busy period.) But, overall, the stadiums seemed quite similar, so I don't know why Bank is considered so bad while Heinz is not. However, some stadiums are terrible, like Oakland's. We are talking crumbling structures here, nothing like Bank.

3.) A much more real, legit and harder to fix element is downtown and the area of Bank. I am always somewhat stunned when I'm downtown. It's surreal. I took some friends who live near LA, downtown and as I was driving the dad said, "Is this really Jacksonville? Like, where the Jaguars play? This is the city?" He just couldn't believe it.

Downtown is.....uninspired. Sure, every city has homeless people, that alone is not an indictment. But, there is just nothing "to" downtown J-ville. It leaves you wondering were "everything" is....like you never really reach downtown. In contrast, even though Pittsburgh is a relatively "small" city, there is so very much downtown; it's concentrated, lively with tons of personality and very unique. If you ever get the chance, stay in downtown Pgh once during a home Steelers game day. You will be blown away. It's fairly indescribable. The entire downtown is abuzz with activity...you can just feel it, even if you are not a Steeler fan.

And, traveling to and fro the stadium...there are a myriad of options to get there. For one, there are a lot of hotels in walking distance, which is the best way to go if you can swing it. And then there are endless forms of mass transit that puts you right at the stadium, including boats. At no point have I ever felt in danger going to or fro a game, but while going to games in Jville, we have felt like we were in vulnerable paths. You may find yourself walking to your car in virtual darkness, with no cops to be seen, in darkness, in sketchy areas.

I have no solution for downtown Jville, but the problem is real. But, in summary, I don't know why they are bagging on the stadium itself, as they are. What's so bad about it?

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My 2 cents, I flew from Montana for the patriots game. I been to plenty of sporting events in big cities. I heard Jacksonville wasn’t as good of an experience but man was is disappointing. Other cities, endless sports stores, restaurants, bars, businesses and things to do ALL DAY within walking distance. I brought my brother and girlfriend, thinking they would have fun spending the day doing things around the stadium, and there was NOTHING besides the one bar on the corner. Ended up just waiting at the gate for hours. I’ll just go to Denver and our other west coast games next year. With my limited expectations, the pregame aspect of the trip was embarrassing and I don’t understand how a Super Bowl was ever hosted there. So weird to me that a stadium that attracts large populations and potential business has nothing developed around it. Didn’t explore the downtown area much. Wouldn’t say excessively dirty but it was just dead/nonexistent

You can't expect that kind of sports bar and retail store scene to sustain itself only doing business 10 days a year.  You'll find that the scene in Tampa is not much better for this reason. And you especially can't sustain that when it's surrounded by abandoned buildings with open doors and windows.   
That said, when the Jacksonville fair is going on it's pretty nice.
Atlanta's stadium scene is doing a little better now.  The soccer team helps.  
It's a really delicate balance of urban planning, because of the parking demands too.  It helps if most of your fans are OK with taking the bus or train like in NY.
The Pats own their stadium and built a nice seven day a week retail area there. The Dolphins own theirs and are contemplating something similar.  The new LA stadium will be in a high dollar retail area. The Redskins own their stadium, but have not pursued this.
I'd hope Shad considers something like this ready to be open sometime around 2030, but I also hope he doesn't expect the City of Jacksonville to take out more bonds for it.

I think it reasonable to expect the city to at least contribute to the clean up of the Shipyards, since that's what seems to be the hold up.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

I'm still trying to figure out why the city limits are so much larger than virtually all other towns. As soon as you cross the ditch you are in the "city limits" even though you are many miles from the real downtown. This allows for a much-exaggerated city population, but to what end?

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We need to think out of the box and build a stadium that is sufficient for hosting the 2026 world cup, Jags games, Armada soccer when they join the Premier League, and also Olympics Track and Field events.

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I'm still trying to figure out why the city limits are so much larger than virtually all other towns. As soon as you cross the ditch you are in the "city limits" even though you are many miles from the real downtown. This allows for a much-exaggerated city population, but to what end?

It keeps us from having to have separate police forces and a whole bunch of different competing governments and stuff like that.  It's a good thing.  I think.

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Hoa boy, some things to consider.

1.) Didn't the franchise just win "best stadium experience" in the NFL? That was like 1-2 years ago. I know the "experience" isn't a 100% reflection of the stadium itself, bu it has to be closely related. How can you be voted #1 stadium experience if your stadium was a dump? I can't see how. Shooting t-shirts into the crowd and having your mascot bungee jump from the top row can't make up for a total dumpster stadium. Yea, I understand how having a pool built into the stadium is more of a "cute" move that won't fix a bad venue on its own, but I just don't grasp how you can be voted #1 stadium experience if your stadium is terrible. It doesn't add up.

No one is calling it a dump. There really isn't some negative view of the stadium in general. 
I think the game day experience is pretty good and I've been to games in a dozen stadiums all over the country. 

All we are talking about the executive president of the franchise answering questions about hosting a superbowl. 

You seem to be running somewhere else altogether here. No one said it was terrible. 

It's not a bad venue. It simply cannot be competitive  with the influx of new stadiums like the ones in Dallas, Atlanta, Minneapolis etc when it comes time to attract a superbowl.  Not to mention the fact that the underlying structure of TIAA Bank Field is that of the old Gator Bowl - built in the late 1940's. 
That structure was razed down to it's most essential structural components in 1994 and rebuilt into largely what it is now. It's received a few facelifts and upgrades, but it is very far from "modern." 

Every owner and every franchise eventually reach a point where big decisions must be made about upgrading their stadium.  It's still several years away for Jacksonville, but Lamping is wise enough to begin creating the required expectations for city funding to help when the time comes. That's all he's doing. Planting the seeds for an eventual "big ask" from the city of Jacksonville to share in the cost of a stadium that ranks with the best in the world.

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I'm still trying to figure out why the city limits are so much larger than virtually all other towns. As soon as you cross the ditch you are in the "city limits" even though you are many miles from the real downtown. This allows for a much-exaggerated city population, but to what end?

In a word
.. consolidation.

I don't wish to get into the motivation behind it.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

Speaking only for myself, it's not fear that keeps me away, I just hate downtown anywhere. Here in Tampa, I'd pass scores of equal or better dining and entertainment establishments to get downtown. My reward for that is hunting for a parking spot and perhaps paying for it depending on the time of the day.

And I always thought it to be absurd to place sporting venues in any downtown area. Downtown areas are typically congested with limited parking. Cramming more vehicles into that area in a small time frame always seems like a bad idea. I'd probably catch some Tampa Bay Lightning games if the arena wasn't downtown. I even avoid concerts that are there. Conversely, I've always liked the location of Raymond James Stadium. I can get in and out of that place with ease.

Yea, I feel ya on that.

If I have to search more than 5 minutes for parking, it's not worth it.

One time I had a dinner scheduled with my girl's family in Riverside. Drove around the restaurant shopping center twice, couldn't find parking, drove home. My girl was pissed but I ain't looking for parking for more than 5 minutes.

Wow. Did you really do that?

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Some of you from out of town reading this thread may have taken notice of some less than complimentary sentiments expressed towards our city "leadership."

This link shows why, and gives further indicia why the downtown isn't Shangri-La.

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/jack...ortunities

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

On a more positive note...

https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/...le-florida#

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

I have a few questions regarding downtown.

Why aren't shovels in the ground for Lot J? Lamping talked about that project moving forward after the first of the year. My understanding is that Lot J can be fast-tracked because unlike the Shipyards, there is no toxic ground cleanup.

And what's going on with The District on the Southbank? My understanding is that the landswap with the JEA has taken place, the city has approved the tax breaks. So what's going on?

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By the way, according to this article in Metro Jacksonville, there is some activity going on downtown. But no mention of The District. Why?

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/cha...19-page-2/

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For people talking about building the stadium elsewhere..... they are not going to build the infrastructure around the stadium like they are and then move the stadium. But they need to do some eminent domain stuff to claim that land east of the stadium. Everything from Matthews bridge south.

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My 2 cents, I flew from Montana for the patriots game. I been to plenty of sporting events in big cities. I heard Jacksonville wasn’t as good of an experience but man was is disappointing. Other cities, endless sports stores, restaurants, bars, businesses and things to do ALL DAY within walking distance. I brought my brother and girlfriend, thinking they would have fun spending the day doing things around the stadium, and there was NOTHING besides the one bar on the corner. Ended up just waiting at the gate for hours. I’ll just go to Denver and our other west coast games next year. With my limited expectations, the pregame aspect of the trip was embarrassing and I don’t understand how a Super Bowl was ever hosted there. So weird to me that a stadium that attracts large populations and potential business has nothing developed around it. Didn’t explore the downtown area much. Wouldn’t say excessively dirty but it was just dead/nonexistent

You can't expect that kind of sports bar and retail store scene to sustain itself only doing business 10 days a year.  You'll find that the scene in Tampa is not much better for this reason. And you especially can't sustain that when it's surrounded by abandoned buildings with open doors and windows.   
That said, when the Jacksonville fair is going on it's pretty nice.
Atlanta's stadium scene is doing a little better now.  The soccer team helps.  
It's a really delicate balance of urban planning, because of the parking demands too.  It helps if most of your fans are OK with taking the bus or train like in NY.
The Pats own their stadium and built a nice seven day a week retail area there. The Dolphins own theirs and are contemplating something similar.  The new LA stadium will be in a high dollar retail area. The Redskins own their stadium, but have not pursued this.
I'd hope Shad considers something like this ready to be open sometime around 2030, but I also hope he doesn't expect the City of Jacksonville to take out more bonds for it.

Correct me if I’m wrong here. But shouldnt the bars and stores and businesses be able to be in business anyways and it’s jsut more attractive to be there because of the bonus money that comes in from sporting events and concerts? Other city’s bars and businesses in the area of stadiums I have visited in the off-season do just fine. If there’s any life in downtown areas like normal cities, places do just fine and thrive even more off the benifits of being located near a place that brings in thousands and thousand seven if extra people looking for a good time during events. From what I remember all the retail area around phoenixs stadium located in a random spot get business in the middle of the offseason and there’s nothing else even out there

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I don’t know what’s going on in jville but it’s sad. SOmeone pointed out you drive in the area and don’t believe that thats the downtown of a big city. Would have no idea if I wasn’t told. Some buzz needs to be generated. Attract some people. Make it competitive for businesses to want to be there. If I’m opening up a place, I definitely would want to get a place in that area but obviously not the way it is currently. If I didn’t grow up half an hour north of duval, hard to say I would be a fan of the team with the success they have had and the lack of life around the stadium. Shad has his hands full and props to him for what he’s been able to make out of the situation

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Agree that Downtown Jax has a long ways to go to become a “ walking downtown “. However, having lived here for over 35 years I can see the progress, albeit extremely sluggish. The rotten egg smell that used to clear my sinuses is pretty much gone. The shacks between downtown and I-95 have been demolished. I think there’s the potential for downtown, but our city leaders, for whatever reason, haven’t developed that potential. My wife and I have discussed the feasibility of buying a condo in the inner city, as I’m sure many others have. Until and unless it becomes safe and walkable at night, with entertainment venues and restaurants/ bars, etc., that discussion will continue without action. I lived in Orlando for 8 years and watched as the city developed Church Street Station , a rundown slum , where crime was rampant. It became an entertainment destination, with restaurants and dance clubs, etc. The city provided policemen who walked the area . The streets were well lighted. Criminals moved to other locations. Jacksonville can do the same if it has the will to do it.

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We would be better served having a stadium in the middle of nowhere with nothing around it than keeping it in the slum/ghetto/war zone that is the Eastside. Downtown cant be saved because no one will fight the Homeless Army, Grayscape, and First Church

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

it won't be long before its announced nfl is moveing jags to london. NFL and jags already announced a while back jags will be only nfl team to play 2 games a year in london. thats a hint there of moveing.

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snowwolf titans owner in madden.

note titans owner means im undeafted againest them. 

it won't be long before its announced nfl is moveing jags to london. NFL  and jags already announced a while back jags will be only nfl team to play 2 games a year in london. thats a hint there of moveing.

Yup,if no help from city for major stadium renovations and shipyard project,  shad wrath of Khan says goodbye Jax, hello london.

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Along these lines.....it would be nice to hear from anyone that's traveled for an away game what stadium they felt was "better" and why?
personally i drive down from FB for home and see nothing but progress for our stadium....other than it seems people buy cheap tickets, hang out in the Bud Zone keeping it over crowded....until they see some seats open in better sections and the security guys quit asking for your ticket

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"Stay tight, stay close. Great things are going to continue to happen for this football team."  - Doug Peterson