The Alachua County School Board voted on June 16 to reject a proposed contract with the city of Gainesville for the purchase of Citizens Field, ending more than 18 months of negotiations and leaving the district without a clear path forward on long-term stadium facilities for its high school athletics programs.
Citizens Field Stadium, which is currently owned by the city, has been used by three large district high schools, Gainesville, Eastside and Buchholz, for decades. Had the board approved the contract, the district would have put down a refundable $100,000 deposit to begin an environmental investigation at Citizens Field, with the option to withdraw from the agreement if significant concerns were found at the site.
After voting down the contract and a follow-up motion to approve it while renegotiating its terms, the board voted 4-1, with board member Tina Certain dissenting, to have district staff present alternative options, along with concepts and cost estimates, to the board at a future meeting.
Those options include building separate stadiums at Eastside, Buchholz and Gainesville High Schools, building a shared stadium at another site, and, for comparison, renovating Citizens Field under a renegotiated agreement with the city.
The rejected contract would have had the district purchase the stadium from the city for $500,000, with additional infrastructure costs of about $5 million and estimated stadium construction costs between $22 and $25 million.
Multiple board members raised concerns about contract language that they felt put too much financial risk and liability on the school district, as well as rumors the site had been designated a brownfield by the city, meaning it could be environmentally contaminated, adding extra costs to the project.
Board Chair Thomas Vu was skeptical of the contract, citing its unfair terms and voiced concerns about the city’s long-term financial stability in light of the looming state constitutional amendment on homestead exemptions that could significantly cut city property tax revenue.
He said he would prefer separate stadiums on school campuses.
“I don’t really feel like it’s a smart idea to proceed, especially again with a partner that’s likely going to be in financially dire straits, and I don’t want to be left with a partially built stadium,” he said.
Residents who addressed the board before the vote were also skeptical of the project and called for more community input and a full feasibility study before any contract was signed.
Several people raised concerns about the brownfield designation, the district’s history with large capital projects, and the financial burden a costly renovation could place on an already strained budget.
Board member Sarah Rockwell, who voted for the motion to renegotiate the contract before making the final motion to explore more options, said she believed Citizens Field was the better option but felt obligated to move the board forward given the lack of consensus.
“I suspect that we’re going to be in a situation when all of the options come back where we have squandered the most fiscally responsible option and are stuck with a worse option, but I’m going to be hopeful that that does not happen,” she said.
“I made this motion not because I agree that this is the best thing to do, but because we act as a body, not as individuals, and if the consensus is of my colleagues is to explore other options, I want to move us forward and not dwell on the past.”
Board member Certain voted against the final motion and called the board “irresponsible” for allowing 18 months of staff and attorney work to go to waste.
She said the decision amounted to yet another delay in making improvements to East Gainesville and warned that Gainesville High School would likely be left without a viable stadium solution under any alternative plan.
“We have to make the best decision today to serve our students today, but into the future, and what is going to do that for us, and to serve all three schools, and [the best way] to serve them well right now is to pursue and go forward with the Citizens Field property,” she said.
The Gainesville City Commission was scheduled to discuss Citizens Field at its June 18 meeting.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Alachua County School Board halts Citizens Field purchase
Reporting by Chelsea Long, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Chelsea Long, Gainesville Sun | USA TODAY Network
