by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
City Council members Alberta Hipps and Pat Lockett-Felder are sponsoring an ordinance that would prohibit the City from gaining financially by allowing corporate sponsorship of the new arena.
The ordinance will first have to pass at least the Recreation & Community Development committee and is a revision of a 1996 ordinance which states “naming the Jacksonville coliseum as the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Coliseum” and no commercialization of the new arena’s name. If passed, the ordinance could potentially cost the City millions of dollars in lost revenues which would be generated from corporate sponsorship of the new $130 million arena, one of four major projects within Mayor John Delaney’s $2.2 billion Better Jacksonville Plan. And, it would buck a nationwide trend in which cities are generating revenue from the sale of arena, ball park and stadium naming rights.
While Hipps and Lockett-Felder are the politicians heading the charge, there are plenty of private citizens also backing the ordinance, including every veteran’s organization in town.
Sam Mousa, the City’s chief administrative officer, said at this point the ordinance isn’t a big deal mainly because the City is neither actively pursuing a corporate sponsor for the new arena or baseball park nor is any corporation wooing the City for the naming rights. And, according to Mousa, any future deals would have to pass through all the proper channels.
One possibility being considered that may appease everyone would be to allow one corporation to sponsor the entire sports complex, including Alltel Stadium. That course of action may enable the City to secure needed revenues while allowing the arena and ball park to retain their current names.
“If we decide to pursue the naming rights for the sports complex, we have to go through City Council anyway,” said Mousa. “We cannot do anything without City Council approval.”
Lockett-Felder said she will vigorously oppose any attempt to allow commercialization of the new arena to the extent to the veterans portion of the name is removed. While she hopes the new ball park will retain the Wolfson name, Lockett-Felder’s main focus is on the arena.
“I’m more concerned about the coliseum because it’s named after our veterans and those are people who have given their lives for us,” said Lockett-Felder. “We should not downplay them. I’m quite adamant about protecting the integrity of those people who gave their lives. I owe that to them and it’s such a small price to pay.”
Lockett-Felder did say she would consider corporate sponsorship of the entire complex, but under one condition.
“As long as Veterans Memorial Coliseum is first, that’s fine,” she said. “If there’s some corporate name in front of that, no way.”
Hipps said she, too, is opposed to selling the naming rights and has been told the mayor’s office will not put up a barrier to the ordinance.
“I’m very adamant about this bill and I just got a call from [City Council liaison] Mike Miller telling me the mayor will not oppose me,” said Hipps, adding that one sponsor of the entire complex is not on her agenda right now. “I’d have to think about that. Right now, I want my bill to go through as is and if they want to come back later and put something on the table, I’d be willing to discuss that.”
Mousa said if the right proposal came along and the ordinance was law, he and other Better Jacksonville Plan officials would go to Council with a proposed ordinance that would supersede the ordinance currently being proposed by Hipps and Lockett-Felder.
“This bill would set a precedence and we would have to seek to change that precedence,” said Mousa, adding that any potential corporate sponsor would have to make quite an impression to convince Better Jacksonville officials to ask Council to make a change. “If we believe we have a financially suitable deal that maintains the integrity, dignity and respect of the arena, we will pursue it.”
In addition to being endorsed by Hipps and Lockett-Felder, the ordinance is also backed by the Charles E. Bennett, Chapter 9, Reserve Officers Association of the United States, the Northeast Florida Veterans Council and the Jacksonville Semper Fidelis Society, which also provided a petition with 184 signatures urging Council to support amending the 1996 ordinance.