JUNE 26 TO JULY 3, 2025 | JAXDAILYRECORD.COM
BUSINESS & LEGAL NEWS IN BAKER, CLAY, DUVAL, NASSAU AND ST. JOHNS COUNTIES
LAVILLA IS GATOR COUNTRY
The Jacksonville City Council votes 16-0 to
INSIDE
PLANNING GUIDE 2025
convey five properties to the University of Florida and contribute up to $105 million in taxpayer funding to the Downtown LaVilla graduate campus. PAGE 6
File photo
AN ANNUAL ADVERTISING GUIDE TO CORPORATE EVENT PLANNING
The University of Florida campus is planned in and around the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center in LaVilla.
TOURISM: A $4.1 BILLION BUSINESS IN JACKSONVILLE
Are you planning an event? This guide can help SECTION INSIDE
STADIUM RENOVATION IMPACT ON TOURISM THE BASCH REPORT
Zalupski’s not first to look at Tampa for sports team
City of Jacksonville
EverBank Stadium is packed for the annual Florida-Georgia game in October. The event brings thousands of visitors to Jacksonville.
Visit Jacksonville says more than 8 million people visited the city in 2024, supporting 59,600 jobs. BY MAX MARBUT ASSOCIATE EDITOR
T
he tourism industry brought 8.2 million visitors to Jacksonville who booked 4.99 million room nights and spent $4.1 billion in direct spending in fiscal year 2024. The 6% hospitality tax paid on hotel room rentals has totaled more than $30 million annually for the past three years. Nearly half (45%) of Jacksonville’s visitors stay in paid accommodations, more than half of Jacksonville’s visitors
come to the area to visit friends and relatives, and the industry supports 59,600 jobs, according to data from Visit Jacksonville, the convention and visitors bureau for Jacksonville and the Beaches. International events, politics and the U.S. and global economies could change those numbers, said Michael Corrigan, president and CEO of Visit Jacksonville. “The most significant challenge for the upcoming year is determining if the current economy will slow down tourism. After seven consecutive months of
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PAGE 12 With EverBank Stadium undergoing extensive renovations to transform it into the “Stadium of the Future,” multiple sporting events, including the GeorgiaFlorida football game, will be played elsewhere or at reduced capacity.
A 125,000 GAP “We estimate a loss of 125,000 hotel room nights annually. To fill this gap, we have launched group incentive campaigns to book more conferences. We are also mobilizing our local community through the “Bring it Home, Jax!” campaign, asking residents to help support visitation when we need it most,” Visit Jacksonville CEO Michael Corrigan said.
SEE TOURISM, PAGE 10
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THE MATHIS REPORT
Who is grocery looking at Atlantic North? Publix and Winn-Dixie say they aren’t behind the 60,000-square-foot store looking at the site between Academy Sports and LA Fitness. PAGE 8 ENTERTAINMENT
Star in your own game show Game Show Battle Rooms bringing its party venue to St. Johns Town Center. PAGE 3
VOLUME 112, NO. 33 | TWO SECTIONS | PUBLISHED SINCE 1912