Jacksonville could soon be home to one of the largest outdoor entertainment venues in the Southeast.
A proposed $120 million project known as The Grounds aims to create a 50,000-seat outdoor concert and events campus on Jacksonville’s Westside, featuring a large-scale performance venue, camping facilities, outdoor vendor markets and a workforce academy focused on job training.
The project is being spearheaded by Jacksonville businessman Kyle Kane, founder and CEO of OnSpark, with New York-based investment firm Blasen Capital.
While no final site has been announced and negotiations with local governments are ongoing, Kane said Jacksonville is currently the leading candidate among multiple markets being considered.
“Jacksonville is our #1 market,” Kane said. “We’ve got #2 and #3 being another market in Georgia and another market in Texas.”
Kane said the project team has secured investment commitments and completed multiple economic impact studies, but several hurdles remain before construction can move forward.
“We’ve got term sheets signed for the investment, but we’ve got to get over some milestones, which include rights and participation from the city and government,” he said.
Renderings for the proposed development show a sprawling outdoor entertainment campus designed to host large concerts and festivals. In addition to live music events, plans include camping areas and experiential programming intended to attract visitors from outside the region.
“Jacksonville is an interesting market because of the amount of land that we can have,” Kane said. “There’s opportunities for things like what Coachella and Bonnaroo do well, which is like camping and experiences outside of just coming to watch an artist on the stage, that Jacksonville lends itself to that.”
Kane said the venue could employ thousands of workers annually and generate significant visitor spending throughout the area.
“The return on investment for the city is roughly $12 to $15 for every $1 spent from public participation,” Kane said. “And we’re hoping that the impact will be about $4.5 billion over the first 10 years in economic development and resources.”
Although Kane described the project as privately funded, he said developers plan to seek production subsidies and tax incentives from local or state governments.
“100% privately funded is correct, with the caveat that there is going to be some production subsidies and some tax credits and some other things that will play a part into the final selection,” Kane said. “While we’re not asking for funding from any public entity, we are asking for production subsidies and tax credits.”
The proposal also includes a workforce development component aimed at creating training and employment opportunities for veterans, military spouses and other job seekers.
Kane said his team remains committed to bringing the project to Jacksonville if public-private partnership discussions are successful.
“I would just want people to know that the commitment that we have to bringing this to fruition is 100%,” Kane said. “And as long as we can get the municipalities and the city and the government to play ball, then this thing will happen, and we will make sure that it happens.”
A final site selection is expected by Oct. 1, according to Kane. If approvals and agreements move forward as planned, developers expect The Grounds to open in 2028.