Mayor John Delaney, several City Council members, most of the Better Jacksonville Plan’s staff, many of the Plan’s contractors and several members of the public gathered Tuesday morning at the site of the new $125 million arena for a ground breaking ceremony. The facility is being constructed on nine acres just south of Duval Street and west of A. Phil-lip Randolph Boulevard. It is expected to be dedicated in the summer of 2003.
Although no one donned hard hats or moved any dirt, Delaney and Council vice president Suzanne Jenkins and Council member Pat Lockett-Felder unveiled the sign that officially marks the location of the new arena. Depending on the event, the new arena will seat between 13,000 and 16,000 people and will be located where the Downtown Trolley lot is currently located. Within a few weeks, work will be complete on the new trolley lot and demolition of the old facility will begin.
Everyone will gather again Dec. 11 for the official $25 million baseball park ground breaking.