JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville is hoping to gain from North Carolina’s loss after the NCAA pulled seven of its scheduled championship tournaments, including basketball, from North Carolina and the Atlantic Coast Conference voted to relocate all its neutral site league championship games from North Carolina until the state repeals a law limiting protections for LGBT people.
No decision has been made on whether any of the games could move to Jacksonville, but the Jacksonville Sports Council is making a pitch that the city is the right place to host those games.
There was speculation Thursday, however, that the Jacksonville's Human Rights Ordinance, which does not include protections for gay and transgender people, could be used against the city in negotiations to bring the tournaments to town.
“That is for the government to decide and to figure out,” said Rick Catlett, president and CEO of the Jacksonville Sports Council. “We are going to bid on sporting events and have been very successful in bringing sporting events to Jacksonville.”
Catlett said the council already has bids in place for the basketball tournament and will eventually submit a plan for the ACC football championship, which has been played in Jacksonville before.
But members of Equality Florida, a pro LGBT group, said the fact that there is no protection for them could end up hurting Jacksonville’s chance. And the games could go to cities like Orlando or Tampa, which have protections in place.
“I think, until Jacksonville passes a Human Rights Ordinance that includes gay and transgender people, we are going to continue to be at a disadvantage for events like this,” said Amber Paoloemilio of Equality Florida.
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry disagreed. He released a statement Thursday:
Anyone comparing Jacksonville to North Carolina is fundamentally wrong. North Carolina actively pursued restriction of certain rights. Here in Jacksonville, under my leadership, we convened community conversations to consider the rights of people under the law. I moved to codify the City of Jacksonville's policies procedures to ensure that they are consistent with civil rights protections under federal and state law. I believe now, as I stated then, we have taken an appropriate action. There is no question in my mind we are an open and inclusive city. To that end, we will continue to pursue NCAA events and expect to have success.”
Councilman Tommy Hazouri, who will reintroduce a revamped Human Rights Ordinance later this year, declined to comment about the possibility of the tournaments coming to Jacksonville. He said he plans to meet with Curry on Friday and that the issue will likely come up in their discussion.
The ACC football championship will be Dec. 3. The Jaguars have a home game at EverBank Field on Dec. 4. But Catlett said that should not be an issue, because crews have turned the field around in a day several times before.