(12-01-2020, 03:38 PM)hb1148 Wrote:

(12-01-2020, 11:30 AM)JagFanFirst Wrote: After visiting downtown for the first time in years last week, put me in the downtown camp for the new stadium.  I was in Springfield, along 8th Street. There are lots of bars, microbrews, niche shops, and in fill of old homes being restored. It reminds me of Virginia Highlands here in ATL.

Downtown is coming back, maybe not as fast as we'd like. You don't need a bunch of tall shiny skyscrapers to lead that comeback.  I think the hard work - building/renovating homes, more small businesses, is being done right now. The new stadium should be a part of that.

This. I try to educate people from time to time but there is a local perception of downtown as an abandoned, crime-infested hell hole that's hard to shake. There is a foundation there that needs to be built on but it's there. It needs some TLC (and some money of course) to bloom.

Much of it rides on the political will to make some unpopular decisions. Mainly what to do with the homeless population. I know Springfield and other gentrified areas were struggling to get support from city hall and the police to curb the problem. I don't know if it's still that way, but it was clear for a while that local authorities didn't want to address it. 

Regardless, Jacksonville is a backwater that has huge potential. If we don't take advantage of the exposure an NFL franchise and its extremely wealthy owner offer, we'll be stuck in the dark ages for the next 40 years. The opportunity is here now.

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