If you’re a football fan, living within minutes of your favorite team’s stadium can be a dream come true. Avoiding long drives to and from the game are a great bonus to being in close proximity to a sports complex, and if you’re a football fan in Jacksonville, you’re especially lucky. EverBank Field is situated in the middle of downtown Jacksonville, along with downtown’s many cultural advantages. Basically, living near the Jaguars means much more than having extra time for tailgating before the game.
Metropolitan Park
Located on the banks of the St. Johns River, Metropolitan Park is Jacksonville’s absolute best recreational facility. Directly across from EverBank Field, the park offers something for just about everyone. Relax and enjoy the cool breeze from the river, or take your family to the Metropolitan Park Kids Kampus for free rental bikes and tricycles in the safety town, where the kids can learn about road signs.
Afterwards, everyone can head over to the splash park and float on the lazy river, or even try out the jungle gym area. There’s also world-class entertainment over at the Metropolitan Park stage right on the river, where famous performers like Tony Bennett, Brad Paisley, Jessica Simpson, Lonestar, James Taylor, Michael Buble, and a host of others have been featured. But if you’re looking for something low-key, one of the best places to entertain a large group before any game is one of the park’s three picnic shelters. Each holds up to 100 people and is conveniently located with a view of the stadium.
Entertainment
EverBank Field might be the host to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but football isn’t the only entertainment game in town here. The football stadium holds a number of other events throughout the year like Martini Fest and Monster Jam, the monster truck spectacular. The Florida Theatre, which is just blocks from EverBank Field, hosts diverse shows like Mark Russell, Alice Cooper, and Huey Lewis & the News.
Water Fun
It just wouldn’t be Florida without some water fun involved at some point, and the EverBank Field neighborhood is no exception. The St. Johns River itself is host to a number of water-related activities and organizations. For example, X Camp is a camp that teaches waterskiing and wakeboarding to kids of all ages and experience. For the absolute best in Fourth of July celebrations, take your boat out and dock it in Metropolitan Park’s marina. You can spend the day paddling around on the river and enjoying food on the deck, then settle back to enjoy a dazzling fireworks display from the Acosta and Main Street bridges.
Image Source: stock.xchng
[cf]skyword_tracking_tag[/cf]
