Domed or Doomed: JSU's Plans for New Stadium
Posted: Nov 19, 2014 5:34 PM CST Updated: Nov 19, 2014 6:15 PM CST
By Byron Brown
JACKSON, Miss. - Jackson State has been fighting for its own football stadium for years, since it's been calling Veterans Memorial Home for decades.
Now the school has put together an ambitious plan to build a state of the art domed stadium. Supporters say would not only benefit the school, but the entire metro community.
"We're still living the dream of the stadium, we won't let it go that easy because we're looking at it as an economic development tool for not only Jackson State and the students but the surrounding areas," said State Senator Kenny Wayne Jones.
Jackson State commissioned it's own feasibility study on the dome. A local media outlet did a report on the study back in September.
According to the report, it recommended a change from the original plan. That the stadium should be 35,000 seats, not 50,000 and that the estimated cost of construction is somewhere between $250 to $280, not $200 million.
But where will the money come from?
For over a month we reached out to JSU administrators for a comment, but no one is talking.
However, the community definitely has something to say about plans for a domed stadium.
"I do support Jackson State in their efforts to construct the JSU dome simply because it will bring in revenue for the city, JSU Alum Nikita Bounds said. "It will bring in more jobs and hopefully it will encourage more entrepreneurship to actually locate here to Mississippi to bring their businesses here."
"I think JSU needs their own stadium, however I think a dome is a little over kill in my opinion," said Stephen Brandon, another JSU Alum. "Being a JSU alum I definitely understand having our own facility, but I think there are a lot of other things we could use for the college that would be more beneficial to put $200 million into than an enclosed dome."
http://www.wjtv.com/story/27432324/domed-or-doomed-jsus-plans-for-new-stadium