There is one school that's more delusional than OM

[ShotgunDawg]

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2014/09/25/public-money-needed-proposed-jsu-dome/16243675/

[TUSK]

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2014/09/25/public-money-needed-proposed-jsu-dome/16243675/

I wouldn't be shocked if JSU actually got a publicly funded dome.

and it's certainly more likely than Ole Miss hosting (and winning) ESPN GameDay.

I vote "less deluded"....

[FlabLoser]

I had a UMC-affiliated guy tell me this is a real thing. UMC is supposed to get the land The Vet is on, leaving JSU with a real need for a football stadium. And there are real (I can't say credible, appropriate, etc..) plans to get JSU a dome.

Hopefully they bulldoze the coliseum and build something nice that is a win-win for the whole Jackson area. Something that could draw concerts and such.

[EAVdog]

JSU will get some sort of new stadium/arena. UMC is going to move over to the area where Veterans Memorial is sooner or later. From what I've heard it'll be sooner rather than later.

Now a domed arena... I'm not so sure about. But knowing Jackson and the politics they'll get something, then the City/State will end up fixing up the Coliseum or building yet another new stadium downtown because nobody will want to go to JSU's campus. Then Pearl/Madison/Brandon will build an arena and nobody will go to the one downtown.

[EAVdog]

I had a UMC-affiliated guy tell me this is a real thing. UMC is supposed to get the land The Vet is on, leaving JSU with a real need for a football stadium. And there are real (I can't say credible, appropriate, etc..) plans to get JSU a dome.

Hopefully they bulldoze the coliseum and build something nice that is a win-win for the whole Jackson area. Something that could draw concerts and such.

UMC is building over there, they don't have any more room and their site if full of dead bodies and such from the old Insane Asylum. Makes development of the area by St. D's very squirelly.

[curmudgeon]

JSU is getting something. Whether its a small outdoor stadium or a dome remains to be seen.

[codeDawg]

Why a dome? Why not just a regular stadium that fits their needs? In what world is the public subsidizing $400K for a stadium a good idea? Public financing, I can understand, but a half-million dollar operating loss is ridiculous. Just build a cheaper structure.

[Johnson85]

If they could build a dome that would seat say 20 to 25k when set up for football, also have a good set up for basketball, and also be set up to host things like trade association shows, maybe Jackson could make it work. It would have to be where the coliseum is now. Replace the Vet, the Coliseum and the building next to it (the expo? whatever they call it), and they'd need to be very creative to fill it out all the time. It still would probably be a loser financially, but recognizing the reality that politics will likely dictate that JSU is going to get a stadium that it can't afford and the State is going to end up bailing them out, An idea like this would maybe be the least expensive way to do that, and would also have the benefit of clearing room for UMMC where the Vet is.

The one thing that doesn't need to happen is they don't need to build anything on or adjacent to JSU's campus unless JSU raises the money for it up front. Building something over there means you basically have zero ability to use non-sporting events to help cover operating costs and there's no reason for any state money to be spent on something like that.

[ShotgunDawg]

This is interesting:

If they can replace the coliseum and the Vet with a 20,000 seat dome, that could host Football, basketball, concerts, trade shows, rodeo, etc... then it may be a worth while project. However, this arena needs to be where the coliseum is now and not on JSU's campus. Putting a dome on JSU's campus would be an incredible waste of money since no one wants to go down there.

[Johnson85]

Why a dome? Why not just a regular stadium that fits their needs? In what world is the public subsidizing $400K for a stadium a good idea? Public financing, I can understand, but a half-million dollar operating loss is ridiculous. Just build a cheaper structure.

If you assume that Jackson is going to build it, then you look at a dome because football stadiums have been shown to be the worst of the sports related 'economic development' projects. There just aren't that many football games over the course of the year and you're limited in what it can be used for. Basketball arenas are more expensive, but in addition to having more games that you can use it for, you also have a building that can be used for concerts, conferences, etc. A domed arena big enough for football is obviously a lot more expensive and it may end up just being cheaper to have an arena like the coliseum and a separate football stadium. But if you assume the Vet is going to be torn down, that the coliseum needs a good bit of money spent on it to get it up to par, and that JSU is going to end up with a nicer stadium than they can afford because of comparisons to UM and MSU's stadium (with no reflection on financial reality or the fact that MSU and UM built their stadium's with essentially private money), then you can maybe look at a dome and make the finances if not work, at least not completely insane.

[LC Dawg]

I have no problem with JSU getting their own domed stadium.
I think letting the city of Jackson have anything to do with it is a horrible idea.

[Johnson85]

I have no problem with JSU getting their own domed stadium.
I think letting the city of Jackson have anything to do with it is a horrible idea.

Nobody has a problem with JSU getting their own domed stadium, but somebody has to pay for it, so it's pretty unlikely that JSU is getting their own domed stadium. The optimistic scenario is that they do something with Jackson that won't be too financially catastrophic for either party.

[Rick Danko]

I have no problem with JSU getting their own domed stadium.
I think letting the city of Jackson have anything to do with it is a horrible idea.

THIS^^^^^^^^ Good luck to the contractor having to deal with the people running the City of Jackson Building Dept. Only city in this state I have vowed to never do another construction project again. Horrible to say the least dealing with them.

[TUSK]

Why a dome? Why not just a regular stadium that fits their needs? In what world is the public subsidizing $400K for a stadium a good idea? Public financing, I can understand, but a half-million dollar operating loss is ridiculous. Just build a cheaper structure.

this question would be better addressed in the Politics Forum...

[Jack Lambert]

There is two highschools 1000 feet from each other right across the street from UMC. Why let them have the land and the building that Bailey Highschool is on?