Jacksonville, FL — Georgia/Florida festivities will take place at the Jacksonville Landing.
The City of Jacksonville and Jacksonville Landing have been in "good faith" talks for some time, over a delayed special event permit application the Landing submitted for this weekend. The Landing says they hadn't previously needed to adhere to this permit process for Georgia/Florida events, but the City says they decided to implement that process this year, because of the recent mass shooting in a game bar at Chicago Pizza at the Landing.
To waive the late permit filing, the City said the Landing needed to address three “health and safety” concerns- they would have to limit crowd size at any given time to 7,500, pay for JFRD personnel to staff entrance and exit points to confirm the crowd size, and allow no more than five 10’ x 10’ bars on the exterior common area. These recommendations come from public safety officials in lights of the mass shooting, according to the City.
Now, Mayor Lenny Curry’s Chief of Staff Brian Hughes tells WOKV the special event permit has been issued.
“We expect full compliance with the permit conditions as they were a result of the best advice the administration received from police, fire and other public safety experts,” says a statement from Hughes.
He says they are committed to providing everyone from fans to players an enjoyable game day experience.
FAN GUIDE:What to expect Georgia/Florida weekend
WOKV asked the Landing about the changes in order to receive the permit. A statement from the Landing says they will enforce all their rules and requirements for the event, which include limiting items allowed on the property, searching all people and small bags coming in, and more. They also charge a $10 admission for this event every year. The Landing has full details on this weekend's events on their website.
The Landing and City are currently in litigation, on a couple of matters, which most recently include the City working to terminate the lease. The City says the Landing is not operating as a "first class facility" as promised, while the Landing says the City hasn't lived up on its end with security and parking.
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