JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Thursday night, Sporting Jax, a local soccer organization that could potentially ask for millions of dollars in city subsidies for a stadium, did not want to answer everyone’s questions.
Sporting Jax representatives refused to allow media into a community meeting with residents about a massive plan to bring the proposed 15,000-seat soccer stadium and entertainment district to Jacksonville’s town center area.
We’ve reported ongoing concerns from neighbors about traffic congestion, noise pollution and construction in places like nearby wetlands, which residents believed were off-limit areas.
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After not being allowed in, we did wait around until after the meeting’s end to see whether residents were satisfied with what they heard and learned.
“One of the feelings I got from them was that we’ve had our time of peace and privacy and progress, it’s time for progress,” said Kathleen Perera, who has pushed back on this project since the beginning. Her main concerns are traffic and congestion.
“Our neighborhood is going to be sandwiched between two major venues,” Perera said.
Carla Medford, who’s lived in the area for 8 years, left with more concerns than she came with.
“Respectfully, the meeting sounded very much like someone on a sales pitch,” Medford said. “The meeting, the residents brought up really key issues, concerns, they were worried about their properties, what would happen to their properties and all of that was brushed over.”
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Sporting Jax told us representatives at the meeting tonight were not available to answer our questions. They agreed to answer a list of questions by the time of our newscast. Some of the big questions were:
- How is Sporting Jax addressing residents’ concerns about traffic congestion?
- Can you provide a study to reflect claims that the project will bring economic growth?
- How will public comment be used in the process of moving forward?
While they did not answer those questions, a spokesperson sent this statement on behalf of Sporting Jax addressing questions about the closed meeting:
“This meeting is an opportunity for members of the community to ask questions and have an open conversation with us as this process continues. We are committed to creating spaces where neighbors can have candid, two-way conversations without the presence of cameras. We will continue to host both community meetings and press conferences, as we have been doing throughout this process.”
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Residents like Medford say they simply do not want this project in their backyard.
“I mean it’s just overwhelming. The roads are not built for that type of traffic pollution,” Medford said.
We reached back out to Sporting Jax to ask if we could expect a more thorough response to our questions; we have not heard back.
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