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Commission approves school use of storied sports stadium

Broward County high school football players have dodged a potential sack that would have left them without a field of their own heading into next season.

The Fort Lauderdale City Commission voted Tuesday evening to approve a six-month extension of its lease with Broward Schools, allowing the district to continue using Lockhart Stadium for sporting events. The 20-year lease and another Lockhart lease with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers pro soccer club would have expired June 30.

Fort Lauderdale and Stranahan high schools use Lockhart as their home stadium. The Strikers have used Lockhart — except during two years in the 1980s — since the team moved to Fort Lauderdale from Miami in 1977.

The lease agreement was jeopardized when the Federal Aviation Administration, which governs the use of the land that houses Lockhart, recently informed the city that it was legally required to charge fair market value for use of the land.

In past years the city has only charged Broward Schools about 5 percent — $30,000-$50,000 — of the profits from the district’s use of the stadium. Under the FAA’s recent demands, Fort Lauderdale would be required to collect 100 percent of the district’s profits, estimated between $600,000 and $1 million from admissions and concessions charges.

Both the city and the school district had countered that such an arrangement would be unfair to students in cash-strapped Broward schools, especially considering the district spends about $175,000 per year to maintain the 18,500-seat stadium.

Tuesday’s contract extension came after the FAA agreed earlier in the day to allow the city and the school district more time to come up with an acceptable agreement.

“This means we can continue the tradition for Broward students,” said Damian Huttenhoff, the district’s director of student activities. “We take one year at a time.”

Because the land is next door to Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, it is subject to usage restrictions by the FAA.

When the federal government gave Fort Lauderdale the land that houses Lockhart in 1947, it established 39 conditions, including that profits made on the land should benefit the airport.

And although city officials argue Fort Lauderdale doesn’t need to raise the rent on Broward Schools, the FAA says rules are rules, and the city must find a way to honor its agreement to fully capitalize on the land.

Broward County Job Fair | South Florida Business News

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