Lumumba criticizes state over Smith-Wills takeover; says city likely to challenge in court

JACKSON, Mississippi (WLBT) – Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba responded to the state's efforts to reclaim Smith-Wills Stadium, indicating that the city will likely challenge the effort in court.

“While I won't go into detail about our defensive capabilities, I will say that I believe we have a good chance,” he said.

Lumumba's comments came during a press conference Wednesday, a day after WLBT first reported that Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch had sent a letter to the city urging the council to approve a waiver deed and deliver it to her office by Sept. 30 or face legal action.

The mayor denied that Fitch's request was an order and said she did not have the authority to order the city to transfer the property.

Meanwhile, he criticized state politicians for hiding the takeover bill in bond legislation and for not allowing the state to allow other businesses to locate in the Smith-Wills area, including a Costco and a TopGolf.

“We've talked to some of the developers who are now ultimately developing TopGolf in Madison County. Previously, they were interested in developing a property right near Smith-Wills Stadium, and the reason they did that was because the state government was against it,” he said.

“Our residents in Jackson are often told that no one wants to invest in Jackson, when in reality that is not true.”

The land on which Smith-Wills sits was deeded to the city in 1944 for use for parks and recreation. The deed included a clause allowing the state to return the land to the state if the city used it for other purposes.

The site covered approximately 313 acres along what is now Lakeland Drive and I-55 North. The land includes Smith-Wills, Jamie Fowler Boyll Park and Michael Johnson Field, all of which are city facilities.

Other attractions include the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, the Mississippi Children's Museum, LeFleur's Bluff State Park, the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Museum, and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.

The property is located at one of the busiest intersections in the metropolitan area. Lakeland Road between the interstate and Ridgewood Road sees an average of about 39,000 vehicles per day, while I-55 sees about 105,000, according to traffic count maps from the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

Years ago, the city wanted to demolish Smith-Wills to make room for a Costco warehouse.

However, then-Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann sent a letter to the city announcing that he would reclaim the site if the city continued with these plans.

“The day my father died, he had arranged a meeting with Costco. In fact, it was Jackson who first contacted the Costco leadership, and that was the place they wanted to go,” Lumumba said. “And unfortunately, we met with resistance from the state leadership.”

Today, Costco is located on Highland Colony Parkway in Ridgeland. TopGolf is also being built in Ridgeland, off I-55 near Renaissance at Colony Park.

Gabriel Prado of PraCon Global Investment Firm, which is also building the Ridgeland TopGolf, declined to comment on the mayor's statements or speculate on where in the Smith-Wills area a facility like TopGolf might be built.

“The TopGolf location in Ridgeland is scheduled to open in December of this year,” he said.

Lumumba also accused state lawmakers of hiding a provision to take over Smith-Wills in a bond bill.

The legislature directed AG Fitch to reclaim the property under a provision in HB 1983, a bond bill passed at the end of the 2024 legislative session.

The provision was hidden on the penultimate page of the 168-page document and contained the plot number of the property, but not its name.

It was added to the bill during the conciliation committee and approved by both houses.

Several people who spoke to WLBT on condition of anonymity said Rep. Trey Lamar, a member of that committee, was responsible for taking up the bill.

“If there is interest or desire to do something at Smith-Wills, perhaps a better course of action than trying to sneak a takeover of Smith-Wills through in a bill where you don't call it by name but call it by its legal description would be a better course of action,” he said. “Perhaps the path of least resistance would be to just come to the bargaining table and say, 'Well, we have some desires too and we think we can do some things that will benefit Smith-Wills Stadium, the people of Jackson and the state of Mississippi.'”

“This is how business is done. This is how it should be done. This is how it is done in other parts of the state,” Lumumba continued. “Why doesn't Jackson deserve this? What makes us different?”

Lamar has not yet responded to our request for comment.

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