Jacksonville is a city that’s always growing – but sometimes it’s easy to lose track of how far we’ve come. To help add some perspective, we’ve compiled a list of 15 things that Jacksonville didn’t have just 15 years ago – but that we do have now!
You’d probably get laughed at if you told someone in 2002 that, in 15 years, Jacksonville would have a championship-caliber basketball team.
While a few different minor-league expansion teams had tried out Jacksonville in the ‘90s, none of them stuck around. When the Jam of the American Basketball Association fizzled out in 2006, many figured that would be the last in a line of failed attempts to bring basketball to Jax.
Instead, a group led by attorney Ron Sholes managed to secure a new ABA team, the Jacksonville Giants. Helped by a stronger marketing push, as well as a lease agreement with Veterans Memorial Arena, the team became one of the league leaders in attendance.
It also helps that the team has won six championships, including one this year.
