Jackson State’s $40 million stadium bill sits in committee

A Mississippi House bill that would set aside $40 million for a new one Jackson State Football the stadium stalled in committee. Per report of VLBT3 in Jackson, House Bill 117 was introduced by Mississippi Representative Robert Johnson during the last legislative session.

The $40 million, awarded by the State Institution of Higher Education, Mississippi’s governing body for public institutions of higher education, would be an investment in the planning, design and ultimately the start of the construction process for a new stadium for Jackson State. The Jackson State football team currently competes at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. The stadium is 75 years old and has become a topic of conversation in political circles.

According to the November investigation she conducted Clarion-Ledgerthe stadium has lost nearly $1.5 million in operating costs since 2019. The investigation also reveals that the facility needs ongoing repairs to remain functional. Despite the problems at the stadium, Jackson State fans still routinely support the football team, as the team annually leads the FCS in attendance.

The bill to allocate money to build a new stadium for the Tigers has been considered before, having been introduced in other legislative sessions over the past few years. Johnson suggested something similar bill in 2025 for a new Jackson State stadiumbut also did not survive the board.

A proposed construction of a new stadium for Jackson State using taxpayer dollars has caught the eye of Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, who did not approve ideas. In an interview in 2022, which came as Deion Sanders was the team’s coach and was finishing his final season before leaving for Colorado, Reaves spoke about it in a video recorded by reporter Jonathan Allen, indicating that he did not support taxpayer funds being used to build the stadium.

“I don’t even like the state building a stadium with general fund tax dollars. I’m not really excited about Jackson State building a football stadium. If you go to most of our universities, what you’ll find is that they’re building their athletic facilities through alumni donations. And, generally speaking, that’s not what we should be doing.”

But in early February, Jackson City Councilman Kenneth Stokes invited Tate Reaves and Jackson State officials to work on the construction of a new stadium. Despite Reave’s previous objections, Stokes believes a new stadium for the Tigers would help with the construction of a cancer center by the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

“The governor is doing his job. Give Jackson State this new stadium so we can build the cancer center properly,” Stokes said. “It’s going to be built right where the stadium is… We don’t need to cut this cancer center short. People are getting sick every day… Jackson State: demand your new stadium. Stand up. And let’s do it together and build a new Jackson, Mississippi.”

Representative Johnson has indicated that he will continue to push for money for a new stadium for Jackson State.