They're building a new home for the Tigers, sitting in the shadows of the massive Florida Citrus Bowl, where Jones played varsity home games for nearly eight decades.
"It felt like you're playing state every time we had a game at the Citrus Bowl," Jones senior defensive lineman Mike Miller said.
But many, including Tigers coach Kenard Lang, say they are happy that Jones finally has an intimate setting it can call its own. What was the Orlando Sports Complex, sitting on a big parcel of Orange County Public Schools property right across Rio Grande Avenue from the school, is now an extension of campus.
The Tigers' tradition of players dressing out and walking, single file, down Rio Grande to the Citrus Bowl is history. Instead, players will stream out of a portable building that serves as a boys locker room right on to Booker T. Reddick Field, named long ago for a legendary 1940s Jones coach.
The field has new sod and is getting an upgrade that includes new bleachers, an improved concession stand and resurfacing of its rubberized track.
What was formerly the Orlando Sports Complex will still have subpar lights and the need for additional temporary seats for big games. But it will have a backyard atmosphere that could be a home-field advantage the cavernous Citrus Bowl never offered.
"Even with a good crowd, you always felt like the Citrus Bowl was empty," senior outside linebacker Devin Washington said. "The new stadium is going to give us the full effect of high-school football. Our crowd will be right there on top of us."
Jones and OCPS had to make a decision after a 25-year contract with the City of Orlando expired last year. Renew or start anew.
They chose a new path, though the debate rages on.
Jones has seven home games this year, and fans of the change think the school soon could make money on Friday nights instead of struggling to break even. The track could prove to be very lucrative as a venue for major meets.
"It benefits the school in so many ways, including financially," Lang said. "Now we get all the concession and all the parking [revenue]."
Others have serious doubts.
"They might be trading a Mercedes-Benz for a Ford," retired Jones coach Johnny Huff said. "I would say the stadium we had was the best any high school in the state of Florida played in."
Marcus Robinson, a former Jones football alum and former School Advisory Council president, did extensive research on the contract and says the move is a mistake. He said Jones could have reduced game-day costs for the Citrus Bowl and still used the sports complex as a moneymaker while avoiding taking over responsibility for costly maintenance.
Jones athletic director James Brown is looking ahead.
"Phase two will be adding more seats and really dialing into getting the complex looking like we want it to," he said. "Eventually it's going to be beautiful. I applaud the higher-ups. They are truly helping us become what we want to be, a self-sufficient program that gives back to our kids."
bcollings@tribune.com
