Jackson State Unveils New Domed The "Game Changer" 200 million/ 50,000 seats

“No other university in the South will have this.”

David Hoard, Jackson State’s vice president for institutional advancement, unveiled the school’s plans for its much-discussed 50,000-seat domed football stadium.

Speaking during Tuesday’s Spring Update on the JSU campus, Hoard showed renderings of the proposed on-campus stadium that would not only serve as the new home for the Tigers’ football and basketball teams but could potentially bring much more to Jackson.

Hoard announced that the university had hired SMG, a venue marketing, management and development company that counts the Superdome in New Orleans and Solider Field in Chicago among its clientele, to manage the stadium. That partnership, Hoard trumpeted, would bring major national musical acts to Jackson. Mention Beyonce name.

“(JSU president Carolyn Meyers) said to think big, and we have thought big,” Hoard said.

But it all comes at a price, $200 million, according to Hoard.

He reported a bill had already passed through the House that would allocate $75 million in funding toward the project.

He also said the school would call on “13 or 14 various streams” for funding, such as personal seat licenses, stadium naming rights and possible student fees, that could add up to $320 million.

“So, we have options,” Hoard said. “If something doesn’t work out, we can go another direction.”

Hoard said the future of Memorial Stadium would be left up to the state, and pointed to the new stadium’s versatility as its biggest selling point.

Hoard said JSU is looking at a three-year time frame once final approval is received. It would take up to a year to secure the land and finalize designs, then another 18-24 months for construction. Everything, Hoard said, hinges on the financing.

“We’re very confident that the underwriters and other financial supporters are backing this, and it will become a reality soon,” Hoard said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to do something real soon in the next few months. Trust me, we are working diligently to make this a reality.

Howard said. “We are moving forward with all of our financing options. Hopefully, we can move forward this summer.”

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Permalink Reply by DaRealFaBoi on March 6, 2013 at 4:30pm

The Stadium is for JSU but it will also be use for the city and the state....It also will be use for JSU basketball games and possible for the State Basketball Championship....if Jackson dont get they own arena....The Dome will also be use for concerts etc...So its just not gone be use for football....Its a Good Luck if the money come in

Permalink Reply by Mary Johnson on March 6, 2013 at 4:33pm

Well call it what it is H A T I N G!!! How do you know what the scale of approval for this project will be? You don't, I am sure you are pleased that JSU is dreaming LOL big LOL! At least we have a vision and plans! As for as being too ambitious I can compare that to "stay in your place" if you know what I mean (history). I guess we will have to just wait and see! Go JSU!!

Permalink Reply by Jason on March 6, 2013 at 5:35pm

there goes those darn feelings getting involved again.,

Get OUT of your feelings.and lets look realistically.

AGAIN, you said the very same thing I said...I TOTALLY CONGRATULATE JSU for dreaming big , and wanting this project to come into fruition.. I applaud them for that.I really do. I, personally, just dont think its gonna be on THAT particualr scale.

Now, like other have said, if this is gonna be the City of Jackson's stadium, and JSU is just putting their name on it (part owners), then that is something TOTALLY DIFFERENT than them building their OWN stadium, ALL BY THEMSELVES.

So which one is it?

Mary Johnson said:

Well call it what it is H A T I N G!!! How do you know what the scale of approval for this project will be? You don't, I am sure you are pleased that JSU is dreaming LOL big LOL! At least we have a vision and plans! As for as being too ambitious I can compare that to "stay in your place" if you know what I mean (history). I guess we will have to just wait and see! Go JSU!!

Permalink Reply by Prodigy on March 6, 2013 at 7:16pm

Boi yall kill me! Funny how ya'll can turn something positive into something so negative! Granted it haven't happened yet, it is still being discussed! BOI I DON'T SEE HOW YALL CAN SUPPORT ONE DAY AND TALK DOWN THE NEXT DAY!!! You got this BAND/MUSIC character who post something positive and then go on to bash classics and etc...smh...sad case! All I have seen you do is hate! smh!!! But anyways good look if it does happen! Any progress is good progress!

Permalink Reply by BAND/MUSIC on March 6, 2013 at 7:33pm

Jason said:

Whoa na. lol. Well, I have ALWAYS hated the fact that SU does not have a parking garage, but lets face it, whenever you have THAT many people on campus, you are NEVER gonna have adequate parking.

LSU has one of the biggest stadium capacities in college football, and they ALSO hundreds of parking garages lol, and trust me when I tell you....people still have to park MILES out to walk to the stadium. I dont know of any CAMPUS in the world that allows all 30,000 people at a football game to have a nice, comfortable, cozy spot right up to the stadium...aint gonna happen. You are gonna have crowdedness and inadequate parking. Its apart of the Gameday Experience.

With that said, I think SU has one of the best ON-CAMPUS game day experiences, along with FAMU, NCATSU. and (now) Alabama State.

Lastly, please DONT downplay SU's significance when they come to town. I mean, thats just DUMB. lol. Whether you are an SU fan or not, people EVERYWHERE knows SU's dominance when we visit other campuses and stadiums. It has been VERY WELL documented that SU has THE BEST traveling fan base, BY FAR.

And now, for a spell check, (which is why the may need to use this 200 million for better teachers and books, IMO)

"in zone"   ..is that the same as an ENDZONE????

"packer"    not sure if thats a word. Maybe MORE PACKED, or EVEN MORE PACKED????

"seat"       pretty sure that should be SIT.

In other news, I actually dont think this particular thing will be built. Not hating or anything, but I definitely think it would be on a much SMALLER scale than what is drawn up..it ALWAYS IS!

It was like that with SU's stadium expansion, and also with PV's proposed stadium. Even Alabama State's new stadium is much smaller than the original renderings.

Lets just think on a REALISTIC thinking train here...NO HBCU IS GONNA BE BUILDING A 50,000 SEAT STADIUM ANY TIME SOON. Thats just too big. Theres a reason why ALL HBCU stadiums are MUCH smaller than our WHITE counterparts.

LSU could be having a horrible season and still average SELL OUTS EVERY GAME.

SU or JSU can have a bad season and attendance DRAMATICALLY DECREASES, as seen with SU the last few years. Thats a big RISK to assume when you are looking for a RETURN on INVESTMENT on a TOO BIG stadium that takes MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR TO UPKEEP, and you only average 1/3 of the stadium capacity.

And NO LARGE-SCALE ARTIST in the history of music has EVER expressed interest in holding a LARGE-SCALE concerts in the city of Jackson, (not hating, but its just not a big market that people are trying to break their necks to get into) so im not sure what SUPPLY-DEMAND curve they can be using to justify building such a venue for concerts that they dont have expressed-interest about yet.

I, honestly, could see the NCAA TOURNAMENT being there. I honestly could. BUT the rate of return for 2 NCAA college basketball games in a VERY SMALL MARKET, coupled with JSU football season is NOT enough to re-coop purchase and maintenance cost of such a large, expensive venue.

Now, on the other hand, the University of IDAHO (no, YOU da ho, sorry had to get that in) does have a VERY VERY small domed stadium that works very well for them, with about 20, 000 seats.

Im sorry, but this plan at JSU is not going to happen on THIS scale. Not hating, but just being realistic. I am very pleased that JSU and dreaming big and seeing if its possible, but at a certain point, it is just gonna be scaled down and scaled down, and scaled down some more. Just a little too ambitious for an FINICKY fan base such as our HBCU's.

BAND/MUSIC said:

When you have a campus and a stadium thats looks like Southern Unviersity, then that right there should shut you up.... And even at SU the parking is crazy and have to walk almost 2 miles to get up to the stadium... And lets not forget about that so call in zone seating you guys built lol.... and lately the Boombox Classic hasnt been worth nothing, JSU homecoming was packer, Southern Heritage was packer, the JSU vs SEC game was soldout, the soul bowl attendance was even higher than the boombox with nowhere to stand or seat. But you should worry about Bayou Classic loosing endorsements and attendances. And name a game other than the Boombox Classic that sells out mumford stadium in baton rouge????? right.... WAIT SU DONT EVEN HAVE A PARKING GARAGE for football games....

Tommy J90 said:

Hope they build a parking garage to go with it,cuz when we(SU) go to JSU, we get raped to park blocks away from the stadium.. guess that's the only time they make money when the JAGS come to town.. They need to build some decent places to go in Jackson as well.I thought B.R. was ratchet,Jackson is ratchet as hell..LOL

Permalink Reply by BAND/MUSIC on March 6, 2013 at 7:38pm

All i have to say is I didnt start negativity.... three other people did that.... the very first person that commented was negative... and the two SU dudes as well

Prodigy said:

Boi yall kill me! Funny how ya'll can turn something positive into something so negative! Granted it haven't happened yet, it is still being discussed! BOI I DON'T SEE HOW YALL CAN SUPPORT ONE DAY AND TALK DOWN THE NEXT DAY!!! You got this BAND/MUSIC character who post something positive and then go on to bash classics and etc...smh...sad case! All I have seen you do is hate! smh!!! But anyways good look if it does happen! Any progress is good progress!

Permalink Reply by DRH on March 6, 2013 at 8:32pm

Hey I went to Alcorn and this is very good for HBCU schools, JSU , and the city of Jackson! and if JSU want to build a stadium on their campus, this good for the campus and the city! Their nothing like having football games right on your campus, don't worry about parking, and the other stuff I'm sure its already been thought thru and planned,the games needs to come back on campus! Big ups to JSU!

Permalink Reply by BAND/MUSIC on March 6, 2013 at 8:32pm

First, I AM NOT GOING TO READ MORE THAN ONE or TWO PARAGRAPHS FROM YOU... WHEN YOU RESPONDED LAST TIME I ALMOST DIDNT READ YOUR RESPONSE BECAUSE IT WAS TO LONG AND LIFE IS TO SHORT TO BE READING LONG PARAGRAPHS ON BANDHEAD

Jackson State are trying to get the city of Jackson involved with their plans to boost the city of Jackson by getting the legislative to pass a bill. A bill that will grant Jackson State 75 million dollars towards help building the 200 million dollar stadium. Jackson State has many options to take into building this stadium, but in order to prosper greatly from the stadium outside of football and basketball season they want the city of Jackson involve. And lets not act like Jackson State does not already on a stadium that sits 60,000 + people, so by them actually planning on building a dome that sits less people is not that big of a deal. Jackson State pretty much wants a dome that the city of jackson can use that will generate great revenue for both . Also they want more than concerts but will be asking near by NFL teams to play in the stadium (SAINTS, FALCONS, TENN )Anything can happen with postive thinking people who has the faith and will not accept no for an answer. And with Jesus on your side anything is possible....

Jason said:

there goes those darn feelings getting involved again.,

Get OUT of your feelings.and lets look realistically.

AGAIN, you said the very same thing I said...I TOTALLY CONGRATULATE JSU for dreaming big , and wanting this project to come into fruition.. I applaud them for that.I really do. I, personally, just dont think its gonna be on THAT particualr scale.

Now, like other have said, if this is gonna be the City of Jackson's stadium, and JSU is just putting their name on it (part owners), then that is something TOTALLY DIFFERENT than them building their OWN stadium, ALL BY THEMSELVES.

So which one is it?

Mary Johnson said:

Well call it what it is H A T I N G!!! How do you know what the scale of approval for this project will be? You don't, I am sure you are pleased that JSU is dreaming LOL big LOL! At least we have a vision and plans! As for as being too ambitious I can compare that to "stay in your place" if you know what I mean (history). I guess we will have to just wait and see! Go JSU!!

Permalink Reply by Jason on March 7, 2013 at 12:41am

Dont forget that Jackson State plays in a stadium in which theres a HOME side and a VISITORS side, and the MOST JSU have ever packed in that stadium for THEIR fans is about 25-30k, which was a homecoming game in 2011 or 2012. I forget which one.

I guess I was confused because, as Ive said, if they are doing something similar to what TxSU did,in just helping a stadium be built by the CITY and putting their name on it...then thats something TOTALLY different than the INITIAL reports that JSU was building THEIR OWN STADIUM, totally by themselves. WHich is totally financially UNfeasable for ANY HBCU at the moment in todays economy.

BAND/MUSIC said:

First, I AM NOT GOING TO READ MORE THAN ONE or TWO PARAGRAPHS FROM YOU... WHEN YOU RESPONDED LAST TIME I ALMOST DIDNT READ YOUR RESPONSE BECAUSE IT WAS TO LONG AND LIFE IS TO SHORT TO BE READING LONG PARAGRAPHS ON BANDHEAD

Jackson State are trying to get the city of Jackson involved with their plans to boost the city of Jackson by getting the legislative to pass a bill. A bill that will grant Jackson State 75 million dollars towards help building the 200 million dollar stadium. Jackson State has many options to take into building this stadium, but in order to prosper greatly from the stadium outside of football and basketball season they want the city of Jackson involve. And lets not act like Jackson State does not already on a stadium that sits 60,000 + people, so by them actually planning on building a dome that sits less people is not that big of a deal. Jackson State pretty much wants a dome that the city of jackson can use that will generate great revenue for both . Also they want more than concerts but will be asking near by NFL teams to play in the stadium (SAINTS, FALCONS, TENN )Anything can happen with postive thinking people who has the faith and will not accept no for an answer. And with Jesus on your side anything is possible....

Jason said:

there goes those darn feelings getting involved again.,

Get OUT of your feelings.and lets look realistically.

AGAIN, you said the very same thing I said...I TOTALLY CONGRATULATE JSU for dreaming big , and wanting this project to come into fruition.. I applaud them for that.I really do. I, personally, just dont think its gonna be on THAT particualr scale.

Now, like other have said, if this is gonna be the City of Jackson's stadium, and JSU is just putting their name on it (part owners), then that is something TOTALLY DIFFERENT than them building their OWN stadium, ALL BY THEMSELVES.

So which one is it?

Mary Johnson said:

Well call it what it is H A T I N G!!! How do you know what the scale of approval for this project will be? You don't, I am sure you are pleased that JSU is dreaming LOL big LOL! At least we have a vision and plans! As for as being too ambitious I can compare that to "stay in your place" if you know what I mean (history). I guess we will have to just wait and see! Go JSU!!

Permalink Reply by Tommy J90 on March 7, 2013 at 12:36pm

Get your facts straight!!! The SU vs. JSU game was sold out,,jackass..And JSU's campus is looks terrible..I hope ya'll do get a dome,so we can whup ya'll ass again...This time on some fresh,new turf..

Permalink Reply by All Brains on March 7, 2013 at 2:37pm

First off, how are you gonna correct someone for incorrect spelling when your mechanics all effed up? (no shade, i'm really just joking)lol. (that being said, when I saw packer, I was like W.T.F.??? hahaha) But I watched the presentation of JSU's unveiling, and it is in fact supposed to be solely for them. I think you made an extremely rash statement about HBCU's not having the money to build their own stadiums. If JSU got funding to build the dome, they would make tons by renting it to the city of Jackson for many events. My guess would be that they would receive a majority of their funding from the University of MS Medical Center who wants to buy that land (which is why they are even talking about a new sports facility in the first place). Jackson is also in the process of making that area an entire medical corridor, so I could definitely see them having many options to obtain funding that doesn't include government bonds, or alumni support. As to the capacity issue, I honestly don't think you can base those figures off of any particular game. As with any team, numbers will be based off of the team's previous years' success and JSU does have major numbers when the team is successful. All that being said, it is an extremely ambitious project, but I do think it has much more feasibility than you are giving it.

Jason said:

Whoa na. lol. Well, I have ALWAYS hated the fact that SU does not have a parking garage, but lets face it, whenever you have THAT many people on campus, you are NEVER gonna have adequate parking.

LSU has one of the biggest stadium capacities in college football, and they ALSO hundreds of parking garages lol, and trust me when I tell you....people still have to park MILES out to walk to the stadium. I dont know of any CAMPUS in the world that allows all 30,000 people at a football game to have a nice, comfortable, cozy spot right up to the stadium...aint gonna happen. You are gonna have crowdedness and inadequate parking. Its apart of the Gameday Experience.

With that said, I think SU has one of the best ON-CAMPUS game day experiences, along with FAMU, NCATSU. and (now) Alabama State.

Lastly, please DONT downplay SU's significance when they come to town. I mean, thats just DUMB. lol. Whether you are an SU fan or not, people EVERYWHERE knows SU's dominance when we visit other campuses and stadiums. It has been VERY WELL documented that SU has THE BEST traveling fan base, BY FAR.

And now, for a spell check, (which is why the may need to use this 200 million for better teachers and books, IMO)

"in zone"   ..is that the same as an ENDZONE????

"packer"    not sure if thats a word. Maybe MORE PACKED, or EVEN MORE PACKED????

"seat"       pretty sure that should be SIT.

In other news, I actually dont think this particular thing will be built. Not hating or anything, but I definitely think it would be on a much SMALLER scale than what is drawn up..it ALWAYS IS!

It was like that with SU's stadium expansion, and also with PV's proposed stadium. Even Alabama State's new stadium is much smaller than the original renderings.

Lets just think on a REALISTIC thinking train here...NO HBCU IS GONNA BE BUILDING A 50,000 SEAT STADIUM ANY TIME SOON. Thats just too big. Theres a reason why ALL HBCU stadiums are MUCH smaller than our WHITE counterparts.

LSU could be having a horrible season and still average SELL OUTS EVERY GAME.

SU or JSU can have a bad season and attendance DRAMATICALLY DECREASES, as seen with SU the last few years. Thats a big RISK to assume when you are looking for a RETURN on INVESTMENT on a TOO BIG stadium that takes MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR TO UPKEEP, and you only average 1/3 of the stadium capacity.

And NO LARGE-SCALE ARTIST in the history of music has EVER expressed interest in holding a LARGE-SCALE concerts in the city of Jackson, (not hating, but its just not a big market that people are trying to break their necks to get into) so im not sure what SUPPLY-DEMAND curve they can be using to justify building such a venue for concerts that they dont have expressed-interest about yet.

I, honestly, could see the NCAA TOURNAMENT being there. I honestly could. BUT the rate of return for 2 NCAA college basketball games in a VERY SMALL MARKET, coupled with JSU football season is NOT enough to re-coop purchase and maintenance cost of such a large, expensive venue.

Now, on the other hand, the University of IDAHO (no, YOU da ho, sorry had to get that in) does have a VERY VERY small domed stadium that works very well for them, with about 20, 000 seats.

Im sorry, but this plan at JSU is not going to happen on THIS scale. Not hating, but just being realistic. I am very pleased that JSU and dreaming big and seeing if its possible, but at a certain point, it is just gonna be scaled down and scaled down, and scaled down some more. Just a little too ambitious for an FINICKY fan base such as our HBCU's.

BAND/MUSIC said:

When you have a campus and a stadium thats looks like Southern Unviersity, then that right there should shut you up.... And even at SU the parking is crazy and have to walk almost 2 miles to get up to the stadium... And lets not forget about that so call in zone seating you guys built lol.... and lately the Boombox Classic hasnt been worth nothing, JSU homecoming was packer, Southern Heritage was packer, the JSU vs SEC game was soldout, the soul bowl attendance was even higher than the boombox with nowhere to stand or seat. But you should worry about Bayou Classic loosing endorsements and attendances. And name a game other than the Boombox Classic that sells out mumford stadium in baton rouge????? right.... WAIT SU DONT EVEN HAVE A PARKING GARAGE for football games....

Tommy J90 said:

Hope they build a parking garage to go with it,cuz when we(SU) go to JSU, we get raped to park blocks away from the stadium.. guess that's the only time they make money when the JAGS come to town.. They need to build some decent places to go in Jackson as well.I thought B.R. was ratchet,Jackson is ratchet as hell..LOL

Permalink Reply by Jonathan Dallas on March 7, 2013 at 7:16pm

This facility is not just for Jackson State, but for concerts, hosting Championship games (Wrestle Mania) and other main attractions that could potentially boost Jackson's economy. The city of Jackson has a vision and looking to improve on it's infrastructure, because we have been behind the curb every since we've been established as the capital of MS. Monies have been dwindling out of the capital city since the whites left and moved to the neighboring counties i.e. Rankin and Madison. I think that this project will not succeed because of the people we have in political office, so Jackson State must think fast because Memorial Stadium will be gone by 2015 to the University Medical Center says Governor Phil Bryant. So if President Meyers don't send someone to lobby for us (Jackson State) we wont have a place to play football except for Newell field which all Jackson Public Schools play at.