A plan for a new Jacksonville Armada stadium is taking shape, as team owner Robert Palmer is seeking to buy city-owned land for the project.
Under the concept that is being explored, a new soccer-specific stadium would be constructed at a site just northeast of Jacksonville’s Downtown Sports Complex. The stadium would serve as the anchor of a larger development project, which would also include commercial office space.
Those plans are not final at this point, but Palmer acknowledged in a Facebook post on Friday that he is pursuing a new stadium. To facilitate the plan, Palmer–via his RP Sports Investments Inc.–will need to secure five acres currently owned by the city. More from the Jacksonville Daily Record:
The Mayor’s Budget Review Committee will be asked Tuesday by the city’s Office of Economic Development to approve filing legislation with City Council that would enter the city into an option agreement with RP Sports Investments Inc….
RP Sports would be required to begin construction on the facility and parking by Jan. 31, 2024 and be substantially complete by July. 31, 2025. If the company fails to meet the completion deadline, it will pay the city fair market value for the property.
RP Sports will make a $5,000 payment to the city within three days of executing the agreement. After 30 days, the city would then enter a purchase agreement for the property with the RP Sports for $1. The agreement would expire Jan. 31, 2023 if no action is taken.
If RP Sports hasn’t closed on the property by Jan. 1, 2024, it will revert back to the city.
Should the concept move forward, the stadium would be located near a complex that includes several professional sports venues, including TIAA Bank Field (home to the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars), Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville (MiLB’s Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp), and VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena (ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen).
Rendering via Robert Palmer Facebook post.
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