Jacksonville Bold for 10.2.24: Hoop dreams

Jacksonville skyline

Could the WNBA be coming to Duval?

A former league president, Donna Orender, is among other locals who hope so. They see Jacksonville’s 15,000-seat VyStar Arena as primed for expansion as the league grows amid mainstream interest.

“I think everybody understands my long-held, inborn passion for women’s basketball and, of course, the league,” said Orender to Sports Business Journal. “It’s something that is really personal to me and so — certainly even before the Caitlin Clark era — I have been looking at opportunities.”

Northeast Florida is one of them, Orender believes.

“What do you want in a city? Obviously, there’s so many different variables. You want a great ownership group, committed investment dollars for the long run. You want a fantastic arena with a great arena deal that allows your team to be successful. You want a great fan base. Jacksonville, when I was the president of the WNBA, was the 10th-largest viewing market … This is a city that will stand up and be counted for the teams that they believe in.”

Basketball has its fan base locally, even though this has historically been a football town. The NCAA has recently brought tournament play to Northeast Florida and former Mayor Alvin Brown once mentioned the city as an NBA town.

A new franchise could launch locally in 2028. But Jacksonville has a lot of competition, including from “Nashville, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Austin, Kansas City, Houston, Charlotte, Denver, Cleveland” and elsewhere in the Sunshine State.

But as the saying goes, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

With expansion imminent, there’s no reason not to take the WNBA shot … especially since the arena is already built and largely underused.

Kind of blue

Better late than never.

After weeks of media jousting, Florida Blue and Baptist Health have struck a deal. The insurance company’s customers will now have access to one of Jacksonville’s major hospitals and won’t have to find new doctors.

“Baptist Health Jacksonville and Florida Blue reached a new multi-year agreement which ensures that thousands of Florida Blue members will retain their access to the Baptist Health and Wolfson Children’s Hospital physicians and facilities. We are pleased that our new agreement will limit disruption and bring peace of mind to many individuals and families in the Jacksonville community,” a joint statement reads.

The insurance flap even had ramifications in city government, with the mayoral Chief of Staff, Darnell Smith, doing double duty; the day job of the “executive on loan” is that of market president for Florida Blue. The Donna Deegan administration was compelled to declare that there was no conflict of interest, which some critics disputed.

“You’re going to be the Mayor’s Chief of Staff, or you’re going to work for an insurance company, but you can’t do both,” City Council member Rory Diamond told the Florida Times-Union.

Concept of a plan

Donald Trump was recently pilloried for saying he had a “concept of a plan” regarding health care.

Yet the same holds true for Jacksonville’s Democratic mayor regarding how the city will handle a state law that bans public camping and sleeping by the unhoused population, which is in effect now.

“City Council approved an ordinance on Sept. 24 appropriating roughly $1 million to the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department to help implement the plan. This includes establishing a JFRD 24/7 EMS Response Team, assisting in providing access to mental health and substance abuse programs, and connecting those experiencing homelessness with long-term assistance programs. The ordinance also approved seven new positions in the department,” First Coast News reports.

Yet while Deegan calls it an “elegant solution,” it comes after a summer in which the unhoused population has been sleeping rough throughout the city in a way that wasn’t the case until very recently.

It’s unclear whether this will satisfy the law, which Rep. Sam Garrison of Clay County championed in the Legislature.

“We’re working to create more housing. We’re working to create more services, more mental services, anything that people need as they are facing homelessness to get them back into the mainstream,” she said.

Of course, the question is whether a budget that prioritizes the stadium project and new labor deals for first responders will provide enough resources to fulfill the state’s unfunded mandate.

China syndrome

Call it the law of unintended consequences, but recent legislation intended to crack down on Asian communists is impacting Jacksonville’s port.

That’s why Loctek, a manufacturer of ergonomic workplace furniture, is importing products through Savannah and not Jacksonville, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record.

The company signed a deal for warehouse space, but given SB 264, which restricts Chinese nationals from holding property in Florida, Loctek has left its 350,640-square-foot “e-commerce warehouse at 2983 Faye Road” and “the 102,409-square-foot building it had been leasing at 1350 Tradeport Drive near Jacksonville International Airport.”

A Loctek representative said the company has “shifted our focus to the port area in Savannah.”

North to Nassau

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is moving into servicing a special transportation responsibility in Nassau County to the north along Florida’s First Coast.

As of Tuesday, JTA is moving into full responsibility for the community transportation coordinator serving the Transportation-Disadvantaged residents of Nassau County. Initially, JTA will oversee life-sustaining trips along with medical transportation for the Nassau County agency and its local Coordinating Board. Then, JTA will gradually move into providing services for the Nassau County Council on Aging.

“We are honored to be entrusted with this important responsibility by the Florida Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged,” said JTA CEO Nat Ford. “We have been working together on this transition for months, and I am confident it will go smoothly as we continue providing Nassau County citizens the transportation services upon which they rely to stay safe and healthy.”

While JTA will be running the services in Nassau County, you must be a Nassau County resident to be eligible. They also must fill out an application form to qualify for the services, which will run from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fares will stay at $2 per trip.

Carrico cash

Everyone who is anyone in Jacksonville Republican politics was expected to attend a Kevin Carrico fundraiser Tuesday night.

Is that a preview of 2027? Time will tell.

Organizers expected a six-figure haul for the City Council Vice President from Jacksonville’s Southside.

This is notable, especially since local fundraising has been slow recently, and the next election is almost 2.5 years away.

Perhaps illustrating that torpid pace is that Mayor Donna Deegan’s “Donna for Duval” committee only raised $110 this year.

Carrico will likely be Council President in July 2025 and is uniquely positioned (should he choose) to hold back the Deegan agenda.

The real question is whether he will use the role as a springboard to a countywide campaign … including one against Deegan herself.

“The event was a success; we’re still tallying up the total and expect it to be north of the 100k goal we set for the event. As for the next campaign, it’s never too early to start preparing for the next round of city elections,” Carrico tells Bold.

Port plight

A Jacksonville University professor warns that the current port strike could have the worst supply chain impacts since the pandemic.

Jim Mirabella, professor of Decision Sciences at Jacksonville University, told First Coast News that the impact could be even “worse than the pandemic, and yet people don’t even see it coming.”

Mirabella is stocking up on non-perishable foods.

“Fifty-six percent of all imports to this country come in on the East Coast, and it’s all the East Coast ports from Boston down to Texas that are affected,” Mirabella said. “So, if more than half of what we get overseas is not coming in, there’s a problem and that means anything we want to get on this side of the country has to be shipped from the West Coast, which means they’re going to pay more for it because now you have to pay for the fuel costs and whatnot. I expect the shelves to empty out.”

Surf’s up

While the supply chain may be on choppy waters, Northeast Florida surfers often deal with flat waves.

A Southside Jacksonville subdivision has an answer to that, though.

ETown is announcing its evocatively named Jacksonville Surf Park, which will “deliver a sustainable surf park community authentic to North Florida, providing quality sport, recreation, hospitality and tourism amenities that celebrate the region’s surfing heritage, culture, and outdoor coastal lifestyle.”

The hope is to complete construction in the next three years, assuming there’s no wipeout.

ETown contends the “curated mixed-use amenity will also support community growth, including the formation of youth, social surfing and activity groups, fostering connections between residents and visitors.”

New name

One Shipyards Place.

Real estate company NAI Hallmark expects that to become one of Jacksonville’s more iconic addresses in the next few years.

“A centerpiece within the dynamic Sports & Entertainment District, One Shipyards Place will be home to the Jacksonville Jaguars’ new front office headquarters, with the business team set to occupy three floors. The remaining two floors present a rare opportunity for high-profile businesses to secure a presence in Jacksonville’s rapidly evolving urban core. The delivery of the office space is slated for February 2026,” the company announced.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Iguana Investments to bring One Shipyards Place to life. As the future home of the Jaguars and a beacon of business innovation, this development offers unparalleled opportunities for companies looking to be at the forefront of Jacksonville’s exciting transformation.” said Christian Harden, co-CEO of NAI Hallmark.

The development shows this ain’t Cowford anymore, promising “redesigned parks, a world-class marina, and a luxurious 10-story Four Seasons Hotel featuring a Michelin Star Chef restaurant, all contributing to a new era of prosperity and vibrancy in Downtown Jacksonville.”

QB quandary

What are we to make of Trevor Lawrence’s struggles?

Because the Jaguars decided to sign Lawrence to the richest deal in franchise history, the player and the franchise are tied together for the foreseeable future. This is not a situation where the team can go in a different direction. Lawrence has to play better. Bottom line.

Lawrence is not the primary reason the Jaguars’ offensive is struggling, but he can be the critical driver in the team’s turnaround.

First, he must regain his confidence in the offensive line and himself.

Case in point: during Sunday’s loss in Houston, Lawernce overthrew a wide-open Christian Kirk on what would have been the biggest offensive play of the game for the Jaguars. He had a clean pocket; Kirk was open, and Lawrence overshot him by at least two strides. On the next play, he overshot Gabe Davis. Both passes were the kind of throws that any competent NFL quarterback should consistently make. Lawrence has too many instances where he’s missing this type of throw.

These are throws Lawrence can (and has) made in the past. Right now, it’s not easy for him.

On Monday, Doug Pederson acknowledged Lawrence’s challenges.

“He’s our guy, and you’ve got to put the ball in his hands, and we’re going to continue to trust him,” Pederson said. “I’m going to continue to do that. So, the next play we throw it again, but he was high to Gabe. So, these are all lessons that he as a player has to understand, and the adversity that’s going to come with, ‘Oh shoot, I just missed that one, but Coach might dial up another one on this play. Let me make that.’ You have to kind of flush the first one to make the next one. He’s seeing the field well. We’re just not hitting and, as coaches, as players, those are plays we just have to make.”

The disappointing aspect of Lawrence’s inaccuracy is that Sunday, the offensive line played its best game of the season, limiting Houston to just one sack. Too often, Lawrence has spun away from pressure, or in some cases, perceived pressure, because the line has been so bad since last year. Lawrence knows it. Right now, he’s gun-shy.

Pederson believes that some of the issues stem from trying to do too much. Since Lawrence has been in a slump, he’s pressing to get out of it.

“In Trevor’s case, sometimes adrenaline takes over and the excitement of the game,” Pederson said. Sometimes the emotion of the game, feeling the game, the adrenaline of the game, those are things I think we’ve got to somehow get all of that just to, if you want to translate it, just calm down, take a deep breath, inhale, exhale, relax, try to control the brain a little bit.”

If Lawrence can do that and the offensive line continues to play better, the Jaguars can break out of their 0-4 start. With a home game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday and then a trip to London to face the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots, winning three straight is not a stretch.

But it has to start with the quarterback, and it has to start now.