Domed stadium for Jackson State would need public money
If the concept outlined in a dome feasibility study Jackson State University commissioned is to become reality, it will require public financial help.
One source is more likely than the other.
The study recommended a 35,000 seat, domed multipurpose complex on the school's campus west of downtown Jackson.
The estimated cost of construction lies between $250 million and $280 million. The dome's annual operating deficit would hover around $400,000. That's where the need for some kind of public financing would arrive.
"Mississippi taxpayers should not be asked to subsidize college athletic venues," Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves said in a statement. Our limited budget for IHL should be focused on preparing students to graduate from our universities with the job skills needed for today's economy. Across the country, college athletics are supported through private donations, ticket revenue and sponsorships."
Theoretically, the city of Jackson could partially fund the facility's operations, though mayor Tony Yarber did not fully commit to that in a written statement.
"I gladly support the efforts of Jackson State University to procure economic development opportunities within our city," he said.
Gov. Phil Bryant has been traveling to Japan and Chicago the past week and was unavailable for comment. A spokesman for Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, did not return messages.
The idea behind a dome on either the school's campus or directly adjacent to it is for it to serve as more than just a football stadium. The study, done by national consulting firm B&D Venues, would have to host other events that included conference championship games, concerts, meetings, corporate events and banquets.
To reach the projected $400,000 operating deficit, B&D estimated the dome would have to generate a minimum of 63 ticketed events with a combined attendance of at least 343,000. The primary revenue stream would be JSU's annual $1.6 million lease payment.
There have been efforts made within the Legislature to ease the financial burden of any new stadium Jackson State builds.
A bill that would have granted an amusement tax exemption for any future JSU football stadium has died the past few sessions. Sen. Kenny Wayne Jones, D-Canton, was one of the bill's sponsors.
"Either we're going to spend money getting the current stadium up to par, or we're going to spend it on a new stadium," said Jones, a JSU alum.
The current stadium is Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. Opened in 1950, Veterans Memorial sits across from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in a spot long thought to be prime for redevelopment.
The study recommended JSU proceed with the dome's planning and that the school start putting together a financing structure for the project.
Like Veterans Memorial, the dome's proposed seating capacity would be the largest in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
"I'm pushing for a new stadium," Jones said. "As an alumnus, I think Jackson State is primed to do a lot of good things as far as economic development goes, and the dome would be a really good start."
Contact Clay Chandler at (601) 961-7264 or cchandler@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @claychand on Twitter.
SWAC stadium seating capacities
• Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, JSU*: 60,492
• Ace W. Mumford Stadium, Southern: 28,500
• The New ASU Stadium, Alabama State: 26,500
• Spinks-Casem Stadium, Alcorn State: 22,500
• BBVA Compass Stadium, Texas Southern*: 22,000
• Louis Crews Stadium, Alabama A&M: 21,000
• Robinson Stadium, Grambling: 19,600
• Golden Lion Stadium, Arkansas-Pine Bluff: 16,000
• Rice-Totten Stadium, Mississippi Valley State: 10,000
• Blackshear Field, Prairie View: 6,000
* Facilities not on campus
Source: swac.org