REPORT: City of Gainesville offers to sell Citizens Field to Alachua County School Board for new stadium

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Gainesville City Commission voted unanimously Thursday to negotiate the sale of Citizens Field to the School Board of Alachua County, potentially clearing the way for a new $22 million to $25 million stadium, WCJB reported.

Under the proposed agreement, the school district would be required to keep the property as a stadium and complete a new facility by the 2028-2029 school year, according to WCJB. The city would retain usage rights for five events annually.

The sale price remains up for negotiation. School officials suggested $1 in a summer letter, while the land’s approximate value is $1 million, Main Street Daily News reported. Any final contract must return to the commission for approval.

The stadium currently serves as home to Gainesville High School, Buchholz High School and Eastside High School for varsity home football games and other sports as needed. The district leases and manages the facility under a 40-year contract with the city.

New stadium construction could create scheduling challenges during the building process, as teams would likely have to play varsity home football games at other Alachua County high schools including Hawthorne, Newberry and Santa Fe. However, no decisions about where games would be played have been made, and such plans likely will remain undetermined until the school board decides whether to move forward with purchasing Citizens Field.

The decision comes as the city faces an $84 million renovation plan for the 34-acre complex on 8th Avenue and Waldo Road but has only $18 million available. By selling Citizens Field to its primary user, officials hope to redirect resources toward other planned facilities.

Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut, who spearheaded the redevelopment project, made the motion despite earlier reluctance about selling the property when the school board first requested the option this year. The district said it couldn’t use infrastructure funds for renovations without owning the property.

The school district has $22 million to $25 million for the project, but any funds used to buy the land can’t go toward construction, Main Street Daily News reported. City consultants estimated costs ranging from $10 million for renovation to $35 million for a high-end facility with a track. Site preparation, including stormwater and utilities, would cost an additional $4 million to $5 million.

Commissioners discussed splitting site prep costs with the school board but left staff with broad negotiating authority. Construction would take 34 to 36 months once contracts are signed, according to school district staff.

The $84 million plan includes a new Martin Luther King Jr. Multipurpose Center, a new Dwight H. Hunter Pool, renovated multipurpose fields and a potential senior center costing an additional $9 million, WCJB reported. Funding would largely come from extending the Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency for another 20 years.

The commission also approved $2 million for economic development grants targeting the corridor around Citizens Field, which has 39 vacant commercial, residential and industrial lots. Commercial buildings over 5,000 square feet could receive up to $100,000 in matching grants, while smaller buildings could get up to $50,000.

Commissioner Harvey Ward emphasized the stadium’s community importance, calling it “the place, maybe the only place where people from across the county, people sit across and cheer and do all the things the good about sports and about community,” according to WCJB.