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34-678: The Baseball Grounds were proposed as part of the city planning program known as the Better Jacksonville Plan . It was designed to replace the aging Wolfson Park , the previous home of the Double-A Southern League 's Jacksonville Suns . The facility cost $ 34 million and broke ground in 2002, with construction being completed the following year. It became the first completed project of the Better Jacksonville Plan. The Atlantic Coast Conference baseball championship

68-575: A baseball game at the ballpark was 12,943, which occurred on April 11, 2003 during the grand opening of the park in a game between the Jacksonville Suns and the Huntsville Stars. Better Jacksonville Plan The Better Jacksonville Plan is a growth management plan implemented by the city of Jacksonville , Florida . It was the signature project of Mayor John Delaney . It was approved by Jacksonville voters on September 5, 2000. Lex Hester

102-484: A continuous route over the track. Study alternatives The project cost estimates, on which the program was based, were made in the late 1990s, when the price of building materials was relatively stable. Total costs were initially estimated at $ 190 million. In 2003 Mayor John Delaney left office, and was succeeded by John Peyton . Construction had been authorized to commence at the original $ 190 million amount, but concerns over rising costs caused Peyton to stop work on

136-460: A second term. Austin endorsed Delaney. In 1995, Delaney defeated former Mayors Jake Godbold and Tommy Hazouri to become Mayor of the City of Jacksonville, Florida , serving two consecutive terms from 1995 to 2003. The City of Jacksonville and County of Duval were merged into a consolidated city/county government in the 1960’s, retaining the moniker of Jacksonville. The city is the largest in land area in

170-519: A souvenir shop, first aid facility, various seating levels and perspectives, an ample number of restrooms and concession areas, in-seat concession services behind home plate, wide concourse and seating aisles and a high-definition video scoreboard in left center field. The park has an in-house video broadcast of games provided by The Schelldorf Television Network. The ballpark is located in downtown Jacksonville, situated between VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena and EverBank Stadium . The largest crowd for

204-414: A year. As of June 27, 2010, construction was 37% completed, with the final pour of the concrete roof above the seventh floor. The completion date was established at May 2012, nearly a year later than Mayor Peyton hoped, but the project was within budget. The City's website stated on February 18, 2011 that interior construction of major systems was on schedule and 55% of the total project was complete, with

238-605: Is a published author and co-owner of the blog, The Jaxon and of the local magazine, Edible. Gena retired from nursing when John was elected Mayor to care for their children, and to also help care for her mother. (Both of Gena's parents lived with the Delaney's until their deaths in 1985 and 1997, respectively.) Delaney graduated law school and passed the Florida Bar exam in 1981 and was hired by then State Attorney Ed Austin , becoming Austin's Chief Assistant State Attorney in 1985. He

272-675: Is an American lawyer, politician, and university and college President. He served as mayor of Jacksonville, Florida , from 1995 to 2003, and as the president of the University of North Florida from 2003 to 2018. In 2021, he was named President of Flagler College after a few months as Interim. He is a member of the Republican Party . Delaney was born in Lansing, Michigan , and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio . His family moved to Jacksonville when he

306-819: The Florida Department of Transportation . A Sunset provision will terminate the half-penny sales tax used as part of funding the program, to be completed around 2010, no later than 2030. The Better Jacksonville Plan financed $ 105 million to resurface streets in Jacksonville that had not been paved since 1985. The Department of Public Works paved nearly 1,800 miles of streets before it ended in September, 2007. The plan also financed $ 20 million to fund construction of new neighborhood sidewalks. These include widening, adding curbs and stormwater drainage infrastructure. A six-lane vehicular overpass has been constructed to replace

340-813: The Southern League All-Star Game . On July 8, 2003, the league's West Division All-Stars defeated the East Division All-Stars, 7–5, before 7,552 spectators. On July 17, 2013, the South Division defeated the North Division, 6–0, in front of a crowd of 9,373. The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp became the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins in 2021 and shifted from the Southern League to

374-491: The Triple-A East . The facility has nearly 6,000 stadium-style chairs and can accommodate more than 11,000 fans, with an old-fashioned design, brick facade and a grass seating berm and bleacher seating. It also features 12 luxury skyboxes, four skydecks, a large scoreboard and videoboard, a playground, and the "knuckle," a unique 9-foot-high (2.7 m) mound for seating at the left field corner. Other ballpark features include

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408-578: The 2009 legislative session, and was not paid any compensation. In October 2009, Frank T. Brogan became the new chancellor of the State University System. Delaney joined the Rogers Towers Law Firm and The Fiorentino Group, a business consulting and governmental lobbying firm. He remains Of Counsel to both firms while serving as President for Flagler College. In November, 2020, Flagler named Delaney as Interim President, starting on

442-503: The Bar the same year. He later received an Honorary Doctorate from Edward Waters College, now Edward Waters University. Delaney and his wife Gena met in 1979 and married in 1980. She graduated from UF, then went on after their first two children were born to obtain a Nursing degree. She worked at St Vincent's Hospital. They reside in Neptune Beach , a town on a barrier island off the coast of

476-615: The Baseball Grounds, a Triple A baseball facility; a new Arena; new county courthouse, and new central Library. He also started the Preservation Project, a series of land acquisitions for parks. As a result, Jacksonville has the largest park system of any American city, approximately 100 square miles. He cut the tax rate by 10% over his term while able to enhance services through efficiencies, privatization, and outsourcing. When combined with his predecessor Mayor Ed Austin's term,

510-574: The Board approved naming him President Emeritus. Only the Founding President, Tom Carpenter, has been given that distinction. In October 2008, John Delaney was named interim chancellor of the State University System of Florida , remaining UNF President while doing double duty. He took over for Mark B. Rosenberg who had resigned to return to Florida International University . He served for

544-569: The University of Michigan to Jim's Michigan State University, where both graduated. John has two younger brothers, James Langius (Gus,) a retired long time budget analyst and auditor for the state of Florida, and Joe, a crime analyst for the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. He graduated from Terry Parker High School in 1974. He was Captain of the Debate Team, was a regional champion and

578-564: The building space with new construction, and renovated much of the remaining. Further, academic admission standards increased dramatically, with entering freshmen with approximately a 4.3 Grade Point Average and a 1300 SAT score. He retired from UNF in May 2018. The university's student union facility was renamed the John A. Delaney Student Union by the UNF Board in his honor. The Faculty recommended and

612-434: The continental United States, and approximately the 12th largest city in population in the country. He was the first Republican elected to the position since 1888. Other than when the City and County were Consolidated into a unified city/county government, he is the only Jacksonville Mayor to run without opposition since the city was formed in the 1820’s. That election was in 1999, when he ran unopposed for his second term. He

646-578: The courthouse complex on October 28, 2004. At the same time, the mayor's office confirmed a $ 759 million shortage in Better Jacksonville Plan funding. The office cited rising construction costs as part of the reason for the budget deficit. Afterward all work on the complex ceased for several years. In 2008, the Jacksonville City Council approved work on the facility for a contractor guaranteed cost of $ 350 million. Construction actually began in May 2009, with more than 400 workers engaged for over

680-418: The existing ground-level railroad crossing. This helps alleviate traffic delays caused at this crossing by passing trains. A pedestrian overpass has been constructed to bridge three sets of railroad tracks at this location, providing residents safe passage over this busy crossing. A pedestrian overpass has been constructed to span the existing single-track railroad crossing, presenting walkers and runners with

714-567: The exterior work nearly finished. The courthouse opened on June 18, 2012. As of late 2014, sales tax revenue was $ 14 million below what had been projected under plan assumptions, mostly due to the Great Recession . To pay for expenditures, the city borrowed money from other city funds, to be repaid as tax collections rose. Renovation of the old federal courthouse, replaced by the Bryan Simpson United States Courthouse ,

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748-544: The headcount of civilian (non-Police or Firefighter) city employees were cut by between 1/4 and 1/3 between 1991 and 2003 depending on the methodology used to measure headcount. There were no lay-offs during his tenure. He was one of the most popular mayors in Jacksonville's history, enjoying consistently high approval ratings and running unopposed for his second election. He worked to be bi-partisan and inclusive, leaving office with approval ratings for Republicans and Democrats, and for white and African Americans above 80%. He

782-427: The mainland of Jacksonville. Their house is the home Gena grew up in. They have four children: Bill (Katie), Adrian (Will) Milford, Meg (Drake) Skinner and Jimmy (Payton.) John and Gena have five grandchildren. They also helped raise a niece (Rebecca Keeney (Maldonado) (Husband Jorge) and a nephew Nathan Keeney (Paola) when Gena's oldest sister died in a car crash in 1987. Rebecca and Nathan have three children total. Bill

816-468: The university saw a surge of building projects, including a new Student Union and other facilities. Under his leadership, the university launched an initiative to identify and strengthen its top "flagship" programs. Since 2005, six programs have been established as flagships: Nursing, Transportation and Logistics, International Business, Coastal Biology, Nutrition and Dietetics, and Music. The endowment tripled during his tenure, and he roughly doubled

850-541: Was a key advisor to Delaney on the $ 2.25 billion package of projects, pushing for the inclusion of a new downtown library, then serving on the team of top administrators charged with making the far-reaching plan work. The BJP was codified as Section 761 of Jacksonville's Code of Ordinances and administered by the City of Jacksonville, the JEA , and the Jacksonville Transportation Authority , in cooperation with

884-509: Was a senior Jacksonville Sheriff Office Director while Delaney was Chief Assistant State Attorney. The two became very close personal friends, and each supported each other's initiatives throughout their tenure. Glover later joined Delaney at UNF as a special advisor for several years before Glover became President of Edward Waters College, now Edward Waters University. The two remain personally close, and Glover remains both popular and influential in local politics. During his mayoral term, Delaney

918-500: Was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by the HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) Edward Waters College, now Edward Waters University. In 2003, he received the President's Conservation Achievement Award from The Nature Conservancy for the Preservation Project. Delaney was appointed President of the University of North Florida (UNF) in 2003. During his tenure

952-450: Was expected to begin during 2015 at a cost of $ 7 million. A special committee was created by the city council to determine the remaining work on the BJP, obligations to other funds, and to project a realistic completion date. Their report was delayed until early 2015 to allow time to evaluate the condition of city bond funds. John Delaney (mayor) John Adrian Delaney (born June 29, 1956)

986-811: Was held at the venue from 2005 to 2008. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets won the first ACC Tournament at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, followed by the Clemson Tigers in 2006, the North Carolina Tar Heels in 2007, and the Miami Hurricanes in 2008. The Baseball Grounds hosts an annual game between the Florida Gators and the Florida State Seminoles . The most recent game was on March 29, 2022, when Florida defeated Florida State 6–3 in front of 8,122 fans. The ballpark has twice hosted

1020-462: Was noted for launching the Better Jacksonville Plan , a massive, multi-billion dollar package of projects for municipal improvements funded by a Referendum. The plan called for spending $ 2.25 billion (approximately $ 5.5b in 2020 dollars.) The Referendum passed 58-42%. This paid for roads, bridges, water and sewer expansion, environmental clean up, land acquisition for parks, bike paths, neighborhood and regional libraries, and four new downtown buildings:

1054-504: Was offered a number of debate scholarships to colleges/universities, including to the University of Florida. He declined the scholarships to focus on his studies. At the University of Florida , he joined Delta Upsilon fraternity, graduated in 3 years and received a B.A. in 1977. He did some post-baccalaureate work before starting law school in 1978. In 1981, he received a J.D. from the University of Florida Levin College of Law , passing

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1088-531: Was sixteen. His father, Jim, was a mid-level executive with General Motors, retiring from GM in 1982, and retiring again in the mid-1990’s after being later-rehired by GM. His mother, Mary Anne (Langius) was a school teacher, retiring after John and his brothers were born. Her father, Adrian Nelson (Gus) Langius was the long time State of Michigan Architect (FAIA) and state Building State Director. Jim and Mary Anne went to high school together, but did not start dating until sophomores at college. Mary Anne transferred from

1122-551: Was succeeded by John Peyton in July 2003. In the same 1995 election, Nat Glover, a Democrat. was elected Sheriff, the first African American Sheriff elected in Florida since Reconstruction. Glover, despite being massively outspent, defeated the two major party endorsed candidates in the jungle primary (where all candidates, regardless of party affiliation) and did not have to campaign in a run off. Delaney and Glover were acquaintances as Glover

1156-562: Was the youngest Chief Assistant of the 20 judicial circuits in the state at the time, and still was when he left the courthouse in 1991. Austin became a second father figure and a role model to Delaney and to many of the thousands who worked for Austin. Austin was one of the most influential figures in Jacksonville history. When Austin was elected Mayor of Jacksonville in 1991, Delaney became the city's General Counsel for two years, and served as Austin's chief of staff for two years. Delaney ran for mayor himself in 1995 when Austin declined to seek

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