Why is fixing the Landing's parking situation and allowing it an environment to suceed so important? All we need to do is look at the latest State of Downtown paper put together by DVI and the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission:
Estimated Visits to Downtown by Category
Source: City of Jacksonville Office of Special Events, Downtown Venues, SMG, Visit Jacksonville & Downtown Vision, Inc.
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Professional Sports Team Events 939,294 979,708 995,683 1,049,314 887,441
Special Events10 1,271,689 1,945,457 1,353,404 1,480,000 1,509,300
Sports Complex Facilities 961,301 982,417 955,686 945,251 892,203
Theatres & Performing Arts Centers 616,826 644,479 743,521 585,270 505,863
Museums & Galleries 237,481 321,975 284,000 267,374 242,525
The Jacksonville Landing 3,500,000 4,100,000 4,500,000 4,500,000 4,050,000
Main Library N/A 337,855 771,141 807,745 894,182
Nightlife Venues 156,000 256,000 275,000 300,000 300,000
Churches 821,200 821,200 821,200 821,200 821,200
Business 1,435,200 1,435,200 1,435,200 1,435,200 1,435,200
Convention Center 221,530 233,517 227,096 159,554 203,991
Hotels 575,240 587,068 612,959 675,277 643,607
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Total 10,735,761 12,644,876 12,974,890 13,027,357 12,385,512
33% of all 'visits' downtown are the result of the Landing. Nothing else even comes close. To allow the quintessential centerpiece of our city to fail, is to allow our community at large to fail. As DVI so often eloquently quotes our former mayor...
“As Downtown goes, so goes your city. . . . [People] judge
a city on Downtown and it can’t be a ghost town.â€
-Jake Godbold