Supporters of a proposed local arena to be built in Jackson rolled out the red carpet Tuesday, Nov. 16 in hopes of garnering public support.
“This has to be a grassroots effort, we need every citizen in this city to get behind this,” said Jonathan Lee, chairman of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce and a local business leader. “There are many questions: How much will it cost? Where will it go? How will it be paid for?”
Lee encouraged the more than 100 attendees to not get sidetracked and wait for the results of the study. “You will always have naysayers,” said Lee. “There will be people who say, ‘It can’t be done.’ Ignore them.”
Members of the Downtown Jackson Arena Steering Committee said they believe a downtown arena makes sense. “Make no mistake about it, it is going to happen,” said Downtown Jackson Partners Director Ben Allen. “I don’t know when but it is, we are so far behind.”
Organizers of Tuesday’s event traveled to Little Rock, Ark. in 2008 and were inspired by what city leaders there had accomplished. “Little Rock is no different than Jackson, in fact, the demographics are roughly the same,” said Allen. “They did it, and I know that we can.”
Allen pointed out that you have to plan to go to Little Rock. “No slight to Little Rock, but you actually have to plan to go there. There’s really nothing in between here and there,” said Allen. “We are missing big shows, people pass us by as they are leaving New Orleans, Memphis, St. Louis and other major cities.”
North Little Rock Mayor Pat Hays said the Verizon Arena in his hometown had attracted up to 18,000 people at a single event. “For us, it’s been quality events, and we’ve hosted sporting events,” he said. “This arena was supported by over 60 percent of the vote in favor of a one-year, one-cent sales tax increase to fund it.”
Lee is very optimistic and is looking forward to the result of the study. “I think it (the study) will tell us a lot about the profitability and sustainability of an arena, and we will need public support,” Lee said.
Populous Sports, a design firm that has developed arenas around the globe, will conduct the study. Committee members say they’ve raised more than $50,000 of private money and are looking to raise an additional $30,000 in order to commission the study.
The study will be done in two phases. The first phase would evaluate area demographics, economic impact, demand for sports and entertainment events and parking and transportation needs.
“A lot of people talk about there being no where to park to accommodate a building of this magnitude,” Allen said. “People figure out where to park and it’s not a problem. At the arena in Little Rock, they only have 250 parking spaces.”
The second phase would recommend the size location and anticipated cost of the building.
Steering Committee members have created a website that tracks every phase of development, including monies raised.
For additional information please visit downtownjacksonarena.com.
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