Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said that when she and her staff went to City Council in support of spending tax dollars for an esports arena at the University of North Florida, they received some puzzled looks.
“There was a lot of, ‘What? We have a tough budget year, and we’re going to give $3 million to UNF for a game? What?’” she said.
But head-scratching eventually turned to nodding as Deegan promoted the arena as a boost for workforce development, education and tourism in Northeast Florida.
On April 22, Deegan appeared at UNF to sign legislation for the funding, which was approved April 8 by Council on a 15-1 vote.
“I want to thank the entire Council for listening,” Deegan said.
“That doesn’t always happen in this day and age, and I think it says a lot about our colleagues, that they really did try to internalize this and see what a big deal it was.
“By investing in UNF’s esports arena, Jacksonville will grow high-value jobs, strengthen its workforce pipeline and shine as a regional hub for one of the fastest-growing industries worldwide.”
The city’s funding, which was provided through Ordinance 2025-0265, will go toward creating a space with 42 high-performance PC gaming stations, a built-in competition stage for live tournaments and team play, a broadcast studio space for livestreaming and more. Named The Flight Deck, the facility will be at the John A. Delaney Student Union.
The no vote on the ordinance came from Rory Diamond, who described the project as “nuts” and said he wouldn’t support the spending in light of forecasts by Council auditors of deficits of up to $105 million over the next four years.
Deegan described the funding as an investment that would have broad-ranging returns.
“It’s about investing in human capital in our future economy, creating jobs, developing skills and nurturing an industry that can diversify the region’s economy along the way,” she said.
Deegan said she didn’t know a great deal about esports until young voters told her about it during her mayoral campaign.
Through those conversations, she said, she began to see the activity not as a recreational pastime but as an intro to studies in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields for students and an opening for Jacksonville into an industry that generates $1.5 billion worldwide and is expected to grow to $6 billion by 2030.
Among other benefits, Deegan said the arena would help students combat social isolation and gain teamwork skills they would need for success in the workforce. The arena could draw in students who might not be planning to go to college but would reconsider based on their on-campus experience.
She envisions events drawing large crowds of spectators to Jacksonville.
“That’s going to boost our local restaurants and other businesses, just like any sort of traditional sporting event, like a big football game,” she said.
Council member Will Lahnen, whose District 3 includes UNF and whose parents were part of the university’s first graduating class in 1974, sponsored the ordinance containing the arena funding. He said that when his parents asked him to explain the project, he told them the same thing he told his Council colleagues.
“One, it’s going to help UNF grow to 25,000 students,” he said. “Two, it’s workforce development. These are people who are going to be focused on STEM-type careers when they graduate. And three, there’s a tourism aspect to this as well. People are going to come to tournaments or other events that are going on here. They’re going to spend money at our restaurants, at our hotels, hopefully in District 3 and maybe beyond.”
During Council debate on the ordinance, Lahnen said he supported the funding partly because it would not contribute to deficit spending. Rather, the funding was part of a $7.98 million pot of funds that the city “recaptured” after the 2023-24 fiscal year, meaning it was money not spent by the city during that year.
Deegan recommended spending it on the area and on Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department facilities.
The $3 million for the UNF arena will count toward the city’s portion of the $300 million community benefits agreement with the Jacksonville Jaguars, a companion to the $1.4 billion deal to transform EverBank Stadium into the team’s “Stadium of the Future.”
As part of that agreement, the city committed $40 million over 15 years countywide for workforce development, affordable housing and homelessness services. Another $40 million will address those needs in the Eastside neighborhood adjacent to the stadium.
UNF plans to open the arena in January 2026.