by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Even though City Council just approved $40 million for improvements to Alltel Stadium Tuesday night, work at the south end zone has already begun. Crews from The Haskell Company are in the process of installing underground utilities and grading the site.
Of the $40 million, the Jacksonville Jaguars are responsible for $28 million while local taxpayers are funding the remaining $12 million. Because the funding was just approved this preliminary work is being paid for by the team.
“It’s definitely not being funded by the City,” said Tom Goldsbury, division chief of Building and Zoning. “The City has not authorized anything [financially].”
When finished, the south end zone will have new luxury suites, club seats, a sports bar, escalators and a new deck. Future improvements include moving the press box to the north end zone and converting the old press box into new luxury boxes. The extra seating in the south end zone will not only help eliminate the cost of putting in 10,000 temporary seats each year for the Florida-Georgia game — at about $350,000 a year — but it will also provide permanent seating for the 2005 Super Bowl.
Goldsbury said the current work in the south end zone has been permitted and he expects the permits for above ground work will be issued within the next day or two. In September, construction will come out of the ground as pilings are driven until the Florida-Georgia game when all work will cease for a few days. Goldsbury said work will resume immediately after the annual college game, continue through the Jaguars season and extend until at least the end of training camp next year.
While the construction won’t have any affect on the interior of the stadium during football season, it will affect training camp — which starts Friday — and pedestrian traffic around the stadium during the season (the first home preseason game is Aug. 16 against Tampa Bay and the first regular season home game is Sept. 8 against new division rival Indianapolis).
“The bleachers will be on the east side of the east practice field this year,” said Rick Korch, manager of publicity for the Jaguars. “In the past they were on the north side.”
Another training camp fan favorite, autograph seeking, will also be affected. Fans after player and coach autographs will have to walk around the stadium or drive to lot J in order to catch their favorite player. In previous years, the players walked right past the bleachers before and after practices, enabling fans to easily get player autographs and photos.
Korch said there will be a fire lane outside the south end zone for fans to circle the stadium before games due to the construction, which is in an area fenced off on both the east and west side of Alltel, through at least the two preseason games, but he wasn’t sure how far into the season that situation would exist.