Gainesville City Commission votes to explore options for funding and partners to redevelop Citizens Field area
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At their March 13 General Policy Committee (GPC) meeting, the Gainesville City Commission voted to explore all options for partners and funding to redevelop the Citizens Field property.
Introducing the agenda item, City Manager Cynthia Curry said the City has had a partnership with the School Board of Alachua County since 1984 to use Citizens Field, but “we know the wear and tear over the years have taken its toll.” She said that she and several other City representatives had attended the School Board meeting the previous evening to “kick that discussion off.” Superintendent Kamela Patton, Chair Sarah Rockwell, Member Leanetta McNealy, and Member Tina Certain also attended the March 13 GPC meeting.
Mayor Harvey Ward said the issue of what to do about the stadium affects “not just Gainesville, but… reaches out into unincorporated Alachua County… And it’s also very much a neighborhood issue for the folks who live adjacent to the Citizens Field/MLK campus… And I want to reassure everyone… that we are not in a position to make all the big decisions, nor do we intend to make all the big decisions.” He said the decisions would likely be made this summer and that “we absolutely don’t” have firm plans.
School Board capital funds can only be used on property owned by the school district
School Board Chair Rockwell said the School Board has capital funds, but they can only be used on property owned by the district, “so determining how to make that work with the redevelopment of the Citizens Field and MLK complex is what will have to be negotiated.”
Rockwell said, “We, as a district, view sports as our number one dropout prevention program for a lot of our high school students. Sports is the motivator that gets them to the graduation finish line with that 2.0.” She said Citizens Field is “an important anchor for our three largest high schools and an important legacy for our community.”
Site plan options
Laurie Hall from NV5 said the stadium “is not working for the athletes, bands, fans, staff – it’s just not working.” She also said the pool is at the end of its useful life and needs to be replaced. She said the community “really cares” about the location but wants the facilities to be renovated: “There isn’t pride in the actual structure, but the idea of it being there was something that we’ve heard many times is really important to the community.”
Hall said the Gainesville Fire Rescue (GFR) facility on the site also needs to be part of the decision process; her firm’s current site plans retain both the fire station and the training facilities.
Click here for NV5’s presentation on the Citizens Field Revitalization Project
Chestnut: “Citizens Field is not for sale, not for trade, and not for swap”
Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut said she ran for re-election “to see this through. So I want to be clear on where I am: Citizens Field is not for sale, not for trade, and not for swap.” She said she understands why the School Board can’t “participate with us financially,” but she hoped they would rent it for football games and other events.
Commissioner Casey Willits said he doesn’t think the City has the money for a new stadium and that selling that land to the School Board could provide more funds for the rest of the project and enable the School Board to contribute money to the overall project. Willits, who often brings up the lack of parks in his southwest Gainesville district, also said that if more money is spent on Citizens Field, less will be available for a southwest park.
Project is estimated to cost up to $150 million
Commissioner Bryan Eastman asked how much the various options will cost, and Curry said Site Plan A would be up to $150 million; she said the stadium itself, with “all the bells and whistles” could run $35 million, although a renovation could cost as little as $10 million.
Eastman said he was “not necessarily opposed” to transferring the property to the School Board, noting that the property is “important for east Gainesville,” but the “City has, frankly, not much use for a stadium except to be holding it and to ensure that our high school students and middle school students and whoever uses it has the ability to use it. So it seems like the right kind of partnership.” He said he would be comfortable with a motion that authorized the City Manager to negotiate with the Superintendent about the future of the property.
Duncan-Walker: “If we had some vision about jumping into the youth sports industry, we could quite possibly not just take east Gainesville to a different level; we could take the city to a different level”
Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker said she liked the site plans but thought the “revenue-generating potential” piece was missing… Youth sports is a multi-billion-dollar industry, and I think that is something that I really want to hear more about from staff.” She said she was interested in being able to attract businesses and hotels and said, “If we had some vision about jumping into the youth sports industry, we could quite possibly not just take east Gainesville to a different level; we could take the city to a different level… I’m interested in economic development of east Gainesville.” She asked whether a Senior Center had been considered on the site and concluded, “At this point, I’m not interested in the sale of the property.”
Commissioner James Ingle asked whether a track could be added to the stadium if they decide to renovate it, and Robert Walpole from NV5 said there is no space for a track unless they tear down one of the grandstands. He said the options are a new $35 million stadium or a renovated stadium with no track for $8-10 million.
Site Plan B allows the project to be done in stages
Walpole said the advantage of Site Plan B is that the renovations can be done in stages because most of the facilities would stay where they currently are; he said that with Site Plan A, they could possibly keep part of the MLK Center open while the addition is being constructed, but it costs more money to do it that way.
Ingle said he would like to see more economic development around the site and thought that moving the GFR training facility would provide more space for parking or green space. He suggested that a phased plan might give the City more time to consider options for the training facility.
GFR buildings “take up a lot of land on this site”
Walpole said, “The GFR decision is a threshold decision… because we would do things extremely different[ly] if we didn’t have GFR sitting there today… I do not believe that Gainesville Fire Rescue, nor their burn building, belongs on this site… From a public safety perspective, there’s other locations that are just as good for response time. It takes up a lot of land on this site. This is a very small park to begin with, at 36 acres, and they’re occupying three of them… We also have the [check cashing] place in the corner that’s an eyesore, that ultimately, hopefully, we can absorb. We have the VFW.” He said Site Plan B has a retail strip building along the roadway and added, “[The] more things that we can remove from that, the more economic development things we can put on the site.”
Walpole said the site is not big enough “to create enough sports fields to create youth sports for this location… You need six to eight fields to be successful.” He said Jonesville Park, which hosts soccer tournaments, is 90 acres and has eight to 10 fields, depending on how they’re configured. He added, “The community was split 50/50, by the way, on whether they really wanted those influx of out-of-towners, as they called them, every weekend in their back yards.”
Issuing a construction bond will increase property taxes
Curry said Citizens Field is also not GFR’s preferred location and that the City is negotiating for another site on Waldo Road. She also said the funding for the project is “a question mark” and the City needs to fully explore partnerships, so she supported continuing conversations with the School Board, “just to see where they take us” because if they end up issuing a bond to cover the construction, “that’s an additional millage.”
Ingle said he didn’t want to sell the property: “It’s been a part of the City for a long time. I would like to see if there’s some way we can work around whatever those funds are.” He suggested a long-term lease to the School Board or selling it with a contract to buy it back after some number of years.
Mayor Harvey Ward said he is not “deeply tied to too many things with this except a few core issues. It is of core importance to me that we have a football stadium on the site unless we get to a point and realize that the School Board is not interested in partnering… It is also extremely important to me that we improve the MLK Center… I would love to see that include something like a senior center, as well… The Dwight Hunter pool is incredibly important… I would like to see as many soccer fields, real soccer fields, as we could cram into that site… If we do those things right, it will be important that we create some commercial space as a part of it, because all those things draw people, and… people need to eat… Gainesville Fire Rescue has to have a home. That is probably not the best choice of a home, but it is part of the equation.”
Ward: “The School Board has to be a partner with us, or we have a very different conversation.”
Ward continued, “The School Board has to be a partner with us, or we have a very different conversation. The County is already a partner because we’re representing some of the County’s funds through the GCRA in this project.” He said the decisions they make now will lead to “something good or something bad” for the next 80 years. He said there will be disagreements along the way, but “I believe we all want those same things.”
Ward: “Lord, I hope it doesn’t cost $150 million – we’ve got to find a way around that.”
Ward said the final project probably won’t look like either of the options presented by NV5 and “Lord, I hope it doesn’t cost $150 million – we’ve got to find a way around that, but… this is not going to get less expensive [as time passes], no matter what we do.” He said he was “fully open” to “property swaps and that sort of thing,” but “I’m not open to this not getting done. That’s the key.”
Ward also mentioned constructing a temporary stadium on the north part of the property for high schools to use while the stadium is being renovated. He concluded, “Today, what I hope we come up with is a motion that directs our City Manager and her staff and our consultants to have those conversations with the School Board staff and to create some creative ideas to come back to us.” He said those could involve discussions about transferring property, but if so, the School Board must be financially involved in the project; he suggested a joint meeting with the School Board and said there will be more community engagement meetings in the future.
Chestnut said she was “a bit concerned” to hear that the cost had jumped to $150 million because she remembered a presentation from different consultants that estimated both the stadium and the MLK Center at $35 million. She said the City should work on attracting private donors for the project.
Willits said he thought the property wasn’t big enough for a youth sports facility. “I think we’d be having a different conversation if the State was giving over Tacachale,” he said. “From what I understand, the residents are wary of putting that much of a huge competition site there, as opposed to a… City park that’s pretty awesome,… but not a Jonesville.” He pointed out that there are no hotels near the Jonesville Park. He said it would “suck if we get this done” and the State offers Tacachale after it’s complete.
Willits: “We can make all the demands in the world, but if we don’t have that partner, then why do we have a stadium?”
Willits said his priorities are more community fields, particularly soccer fields; a “better, bigger MLK Center”; a stadium with seat backs; a place where “students… can roll in like champions, not in the dirt and grass parking lot”; and a new pool, preferably without needing to close the old pool during construction. He added, “We can make all the demands in the world, but if we don’t have that partner, then why do we have a stadium? Because I don’t think we’re going to be that big of a draw without that partner there.” He said he was willing to transfer or sell the property “to unlock other dollars and to put the responsibility on the School Board to maintain the site, as opposed to the City.”
Duncan-Walker: “I simply don’t want to let go of this idea of youth sports because I think it’s an opportunity for us, down the line, to generate some significant income, revenue, notoriety, partnerships.”
Duncan-Walker said she wanted to “explore all of our options” but especially encouraged staff to “innovate.” She said one idea could be a “sports district” that includes the track at Cone Park and “other sports amenities at T.B. McPherson,” where improvements are scheduled in the next few years. She continued, “I simply don’t want to let go of this idea of youth sports because I think it’s an opportunity for us, down the line, to generate some significant income, revenue, notoriety, partnerships.” She said she was curious about “where the Chamber is on this” and hoped they could be one of the partners at the table, “bringing some insight, bringing some influence, and bringing some dollars.”
Commissioner Ed Book said that while he was not in favor of selling Citizens Field “as the first option,” he thought all options need to be on the table at this point so they know what their choices are.
Public comment
No citizens spoke during public comment, and Ward said, “It’s always interesting to me when people show up and when they don’t.” He said that City Commission and General Policy Committee meetings are “an opportunity for you to come let us know, when we’re talking about this, how you feel about it.”
First motion
Chestnut made a motion to “direct the City Manager to work with the School Superintendent to explore possibilities of a partnership for Citizens Field. Two, staff explore economic revenue generation for the City of Gainesville. Three, staff explore partnerships for Citizens Field with partners – for example, the Chamber. Four, staff explore mixed-use sports for Eighth and Waldo.” Duncan-Walker seconded the motion.
Superintendent Patton said the FHSAA is looking for stadiums in northern Florida to hold state tournaments, and she suggested that they also think about adding a diving pool.
The motion passed unanimously.
Second motion
Book made a motion to “direct City staff to explore alternative sites for Fire Station #3 and the training center, so that property will be potentially available as part of the NE 8th Avenue project.”
Curry interrupted to say her staff is already doing that: “We’re actively involved in exploring that, to include VFW and the check cashing facility.”
Book withdrew the motion.
democrats campaigning for reelection. Very little substance.
Clowns elected by the clown voting base
Slip, sliding, away! Chestnut’s dream of the stadium, multipurpose area, being named after her are fading in the GNV CC financial mismanagement cesspool! She is directing the City Manager to put lipstick on the pig and see if there are any takers dumber than ACPS/SBAC!
I’m sure the Senior Center would be a hit (in the head), literally, for the thugs in the area!
Hey GNV CC Dsmd-Walker: No smart businesses will come to East Gainesville until it is rid of the high rate of criminal activity and probably Grace as well! It will remain what it is, a place one must drive through as fast as possible to get to the airport, or Jacksonville!
I live blocks away. my family has always loved going there for the last 20 years
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$150 million? Wtf? That’s a lot of our tax dollars for what?
Enough of the BS spending frenzy so Chestnut can have another space in East Gainesville with her name on it.
So you want to disrespect the Veterans and the firefighters???
First: FIX THE DANGEROUS ROADS!!!
Typical comments here from a group that hates Gainesville and Alachua County, but won’t leave.
Obviously the city needs to do the stadium remodeling option and plan B which allows incremental improvements. There isn’t money for other options, and the long standing lack of other stadiums for Bucholz, GHS, and Eastside football and soccer won’t be solved now.
A tiny blue country and city in a red state! You folks are the minority by a massive number. How about you all leave… state government will forever trump your whittle county and city thugs!
County
Hey fingers, I have a much better idea: All you MAGAtards leave.
You nanny state dependent
t u r d s don’t have the intestinal fortitude to force us to do anything! You people are irrelevant in this great red state!
Jazzman is right on this point: if there are less expensive parts of the project that can be done piecemeal (such as the stadium renovation), do those and get them out of the way while deciding on how/whether to proceed with the larger plan.
Fix the dangerous and decrepit roads first.
The stadium renovation alone is allegedly $15 million… not exactly “less expensive”
ACPS Parent:
“..the options are a new $35 million stadium or a renovated stadium with no track for $8-10 million.”
Ah ok, Jazz, I was going by the SBAC figures thrown around at last week’s school board meeting. No way they’ll get off “only” paying $8- $10 million, which is still an insane amount of money
“Walpole said the advantage of Site Plan B is that the renovations can be done in stages because most of the facilities would stay where they currently are;…”
Your concept and reasoning of fixing the stadium is correct. But where is the city of Gainesville suppose to get the money from. I hardly doubt they will reach into their own pockets. No, more likely pick another entity’s pocket.
Jazz, I don’t hate Alachua County and Gainesville, but I do hate sinking 150 million tax payer dollars into what sounds like a vanity project
Do we really need a fancy new football stadium for high school football? Who cares if other teams hate playing at Citizen’s … that’s what I’d consider a home field advantage…lol
ACPS, I may or may not agree with specific criticisms of plans or comments by commissioners but that is legitimate commentary. Unfortunately many to most here in the comments are just knee jerk negative without content, wasting their time and others with the same old stupid and often racist ranting. The reporters recording these events seemingly put forth a lot of effort to be detailed and accurate but it’s usually pearls before the swine in the comments section.
need to find some Corporate Sponsors for the Stadium.
Huge waste of money. People do not want to go to that area at night. Very dangerous.
Another eastside adventure.
Uniformly, when the City Commission looks for a “partner”, citizens are disserved. They also want a “partner” to pay for its own County streetlights. Panhandling from sister governments cannot offset reductions in funding reductions from a tapped out GRU.
Jim, maybe you could run for the CC again.
Maybe not.
Did the city commissioners season their meals with magic mushrooms before this meeting? One, they don’t have $150 million to fritter away. Two, the only use for Citizens Field is by the Schools.There is no practical use by the city for a multi million dollar football field. Give Citizens to the ACSB to renovate and use. Renting it to the schools will make fixing up their existing football fields more attractive, anyway.
Yeah and ACPS will use probably $40 million in infrastructure funds (their projects always run over) to rebuild a stadium for kids who only have to maintain a 2.0 to play. Even if they manage to renovate the stadium for a mere $8 million (not likely), that’s still a lot of money on a “dropout prevention measure” when the SBAC allegedly can’t afford a decent raise for teachers and when they can’t afford to pay support staff a living wage.
That’s OK though, they’ll continue to blame the state and families who use vouchers for all their financial woes. But hey, they’ll have a shiny new stadium for their “scholar-athletes”
It’s more than the players on the field. It’s about the band members, the cheer squads, boosters and the school spirit that being part of something engenders.
If the primary function of the stadium is high school events then why not transfer it to them since “city” gets exactly what in return?
Try asking about doing an event there and it’s always a hard no.
The only thing other than HS football is youth Pop Warner football…not sure if that is a city activity or a pay to play group/league.
Boys Club no longer does football? That was HUGE when I was a kiddo here
Show me the $$$! Cause….there ain’t no more ‘borrowing’ from the GRU slush fund.
“ Rockwell said, “We, as a district, view sports as our number one dropout prevention program for a lot of our high school students. Sports is the motivator that gets them to the graduation finish line with that 2.0.” “
Nothing like striving for a 2.0!
And don’t get it twisted..they only care about the “finish line with that 2.0” because they don’t wanna lose funding tied to dropouts. I wish they cared about education as much as they care about money and statistics
Yes, Slice. If our tax dollars are spent on a new stadium, then they should raise the gpa to at least a 3.0. Have those kids actually care about school.
And you don’t think some kids in athletic pursuits do raise their goals as they achieve small successes on the way?
Drop outs end up here- pennywise pound foolish.
From ChatGPT
“Renovating the Alachua County Jail has been a topic of ongoing discussion, with various projects and cost estimates over the years:
• 1994 Expansion: An expansion and renovation project was completed in 1994 at a cost of approximately $27.4 million, increasing the facility’s capacity. 
• 2007 Barracks Addition: A 14,700-square-foot barracks addition, providing 168 beds, was undertaken in 2007 with an estimated cost of $5.4 million. 
• HVAC and Roof Replacement: In the early 2000s, a project focusing on overhauling the HVAC systems and replacing the roof was implemented at a cost of $9.6 million. 
• Recent Renovation Discussions: As of February 2025, Alachua County commissioners are considering a comprehensive renovation project estimated at over $80 million, which would include upgrades to the jail’s mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. 
• Capital Efficiency Analysis: In January 2025, Alachua County requested $225,000 from the state to conduct a Comprehensive Capital Efficiency Analysis of the existing jail facility. This analysis aims to guide informed, cost-effective decisions for both capital investment and operational efficiency. 
These figures illustrate the significant investments made and proposed to maintain and improve the Alachua County Jail over the years.”
Uh, putting aside your mind reading skills, you were in high school at one time right? Were all the kids there focused on grades or were a number doing the minimum or less and would it have been a bad thing to get some of them motivated to get above the “less” and to the “minimum”? Not burning bridges when you are young and maintaining a path to success in case you actually later mature may be a worthy goal for many, and part of the job of educators.
If they care about football, they can care about school…or at least keeping their gpa at a 3.0…or a 2.5. Is that better?
It’s not about the gpa as much as them going to and participating in class, doing homework assignments, and studying for exams. If they were asked to put the same effort into school as they do on the field, they would step up to the plate.
And no, I actually didn’t know any students who were doing below the bare minimum. I suppose I could ask my brother since he played football at BHS
Right. It looks as if these jerks are giving apathetic parents a pass for not caring about their children’s success.
The city should ask the bums what they want because they’re the ones that will occupy the place.
Will it include a concrete Wall and TSA-style entry/exit access for security? The way UF does at sports venues?
This is the result of the neglect of the eastside and as we continue to wait the price is gonna go UP. For years the tax dollars of eastside residents has supported this city yet the residents of the Eastside hasn’t never gotten the benefits of their tax dollars. I am just waiting for all this high crime on areas of THE EASTSIDE. Like most college town we focus so much on the students and the university. Then the historic economic redlining of EASTSIDE has created a mess .
I am all for development in the eastside, but when they trot out these grandiose plans that could involve up to $150 million in tax payer dollars, I am less than enthusiastic.
Maybe they should do more to attract developers and businesses to the eastside before even contemplating spending even $10 million to “upgrade” a stadium for high school football
Why would a business locate to the Eastside??? Most move out.
Crazy how you’re only getting downvotes because you didn’t mention “homeless” or “thugs”. Keep telling the truth
Parking is major issue regardless. Commuter buses and a lot is needed. A second or third stadium for a county this size is long overdue! In the story, Tb McPherson is by Boulware on SE 15th great option. Cone Park was mentioned too.
Maybe the project can include a Golden Corral?
Be careful….there could very well be riot if GC runs out of crab legs.
Stereotypical nonsense why wouldn’t you want to develop the Eastside it benefits the whole city and it makes the city complete. Where are the businesses that moved from.the Eastside of Gainesville? Here again the historical redlining has prevented development on the Eastside. I remember someone saying that four hundred employees were fired from. stealing from Walmart which was a lie.
It is odd that the east side of the city has remained so underdeveloped despite an extremely liberal city commission. What have they done over the years to revitalize the area? What economic opportunities have they brought to east Gainesville?