Council members pitch permanent shade structure for Jacksonville veterans memorial

Councilman Will Landon and Councilman Chris Miller met with Harrison Conyers, of the Military Affairs and Veterans Department, to review design options and costs for a permanent shade and event structure over the city's veterans memorial at the stadium.

Supporters said the structure would replace an annual rented tent and provide a year-round venue with weather protection, built-in sound and fan systems, and programmable lighting for commemorations and other events. "The idea of the shade structure is to be able to give us not just the the shade, for Memorial Day, but to really create a 365 day a year venue," Conyers said during a PowerPoint presentation and concept video shown to the council members.

The design study for the shade structure was funded earlier this year with $200,000 from council strategic-initiative accounts Landon and Miller said they provided. Council members said preliminary construction estimates from the design firm Haskell range from about $5.7 million for a fixed cover to about $6.8 million for a programmable-mesh option. Landon said the council expects to place $2 million into the capital improvements program (CIP) but that additional private and public funding'"3 to 4 million from other sources"'will be needed before construction can begin.

Council members and Conyers discussed operational features the permanent structure would provide, including built-in fans (currently attached temporarily to the rented tent), integrated lighting control, and programmable visual effects that could display stars, flags or sponsor imagery. City staff noted the event area typically seats about 1,300 people; Conyers said Memorial Day attendance has ranged from about 1,900 this year to about 3,000 in previous years. Conyers and council members cited the roughly $140,000 charged annually for the current rented tent as a recurring cost the city would avoid with a permanent structure; Conyers said his department raises about $40,000 a year to help cover event expenses.

Public Works will issue an invitation for bids to test whether competing contractors can lower the Haskell estimate, council members said; Haskell'which prepared the design study'is expected to be a bidder but is not guaranteed the work. Council members emphasized seeking corporate sponsorships and other public-private partnerships to reduce the city's share of cost. "This doesn't have to be $6,000,000 of taxpayer dollars," Landon said, urging outreach to corporate donors and veteran-serving organizations.

Next steps include a formal RFP through Public Works, continued fundraising and sponsorship outreach, and inclusion of the $2 million CIP allocation in the mayor's upcoming budget proposal. No formal council vote was recorded at the meeting; the item was presented for update and planning purposes.

Conyers thanked the council members for the design-study funding and said staff will continue refining cost estimates and event programming for the venue.