During an hours-long meeting Tuesday that ranged from the city’s water crisis to the ongoing battle over who picks up the city’s trash, the Jackson City Council unanimously approved a resolution supporting construction of a new football stadium for Jackson State University and encouraging the program’s coach, Deion Sanders, to stay.
The resolution did not provide funding or approval for a specific plan, but rather was a way of voicing on-record the council’s support for any new stadium plan that the university may announce, said Ward 3 Councilmember Kenneth Stokes, who proposed the resolution.
“It’s just the perfect time to, if we’re going to get a new stadium, start talking about where, and let’s try to make it a reality,” Stokes said.
Council President Ashby Foote, of ward 1, said Wednesday any decision on the funding for a new stadium would come from JSU and the state Legislature, not the council. He said the council’s vote does not indicate that a specific plan for a stadium will be coming soon.
“Jackson wouldn’t be involved with the financing of that. That would be done at the state Legislature level,” Foote said. “It has been on the wish list of Jackson State and a lot of the Democratic state legislators for a while, but I’m not aware of any new developments or plans that have occurred.”
A spokesperson for JSU could not confirm nor deny the existence of a plan for a new stadium, saying only that JSU President Thomas Hudson is “thankful for the city’s continued support for Jackson State University.” Stokes said he would support whatever the university and the president want, and he believes the president wants an on-campus stadium.
Stokes and Foote both said Wednesday that the resolution was intended to show the council’s approval of any plan that might arise from the university, doing so before the state legislative session begins in January.
“It’s important that we send a message that we’re going to support Jackson State in its efforts to get that new stadium. We need to start early, before the legislative session begins. We’re in October. We’ve got a 90-day window before the Legislature will go back into session, and we hope this will be an early thing, the vote about Jackson State’s new stadium will be an early vote in the legislative process,” Stokes said.
Foote said that a new stadium may come with an added “side benefit” for the state, which may make it more popular with state legislators. It would open up the land where Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium currently sits for other uses. The stadium sits across the street from the University of Mississippi Medical Center campus.
During Tuesday’s meeting, members of the council pitched a new stadium as a way to entice JSU head coach Deion Sanders into staying with the program.
“You know, we’re all hoping that Coach Prime stays in the city for a long period of time, but a lot of colleges and universities trying to get his talents,” Stokes said. “Maybe if we can show as a state that we are committed to him staying and committed to the new stadium, maybe it would help encourage him to stay.”
It was not the only part of the resolution aimed at pleasing the man known by many as Coach Prime, a reference to his nickname as a player: “Primetime.”
After an on-field incident between Sanders and first-year Alabama State Head Coach Eddie Robinson last week, Robinson questioned whether Sanders had the right to identify himself with the Southwestern Athletic Conference brand. The SWAC is comprised of a number of Southern historically black colleges and universities. Robinson attended Alabama State, a longtime member of the SWAC, while Sanders attended Florida State, of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
While the resolution regarding the stadium was being discussed, Ward 6 Councilmember Aaron Banks motioned to add a line to the resolution that “Deion Sanders is a part of the SWAC.” To laughs, Foote responded that such a declaration is beyond their mandate as a city council.
“He’s good for the SWAC, even though they say he’s not SWAC,” Stokes said.
On Wednesday, Stokes said Robinson’s comments came down to his team having lost to JSU.
“Sometimes when you have lost you make immature statements,” Stokes said.
Stokes’ passion for supporting JSU comes from the earliest moments of his life.
“I’m one of the few people still alive that was born on the Jackson State campus, in the old health center,” Stokes said Wednesday. “My mother worked at the time at Jackson State in the cafeteria, so she was allowed to have the privilege of using the health center. So, I’m going to support Jackson State University, any decisions that they make I’m going to be behind them 100%.”
The answer as to whether support from Stokes and the council for a new stadium will have any impact on one being built will have to wait until the university puts forward a plan and the Legislature has decided whether to provide funding.
