Jackson could lose ownership of Smith-Wills Stadium after Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch initiated an effort to repossess the land the 49-year-old facility sits on from the capital city.

“The office of the Attorney General has been directed by House Bill 1983, 2024 Regular Session, to take appropriate action to enforce the reverter language in the 1944 deed, recorded in Book 385, Page 166, that conveyed title from the State of Mississippi to the City of Jackson of the above named parcel, subject to provision that the area conveyed be used for park purposes,” the Sept. 13 letter, which WAPT’s Ross Adams first reported on Tuesday, says. “The terms of the agreement have been breached.”

“To accomplish the City’s abandonment of the subject parcel of land, and return of the same to the State, a quit claim deed from the City to the State has been enclosed with this correspondence,” the letter, addressed to Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba and all Jackson City Council members, continues.

“Please ask the City Council to approve your execution and delivery of this deed as soon as possible. Should the City fail or refuse to convey its rights to the property by September 30, 2024, then appropriate legal action will commence.”

When asked for comment on the letter from Lynn Fitch’s office, City of Jackson Communications Director Melissa Faith Payne gave a two-sentence statement to Mississippi Free Press.

“The City Of Jackson does not believe that it is in breach in relation to the property. We certainly intend to fight in order to keep and maintain Smith-Wills stadium,” she said.

‘Land Shall Revert Back To The State’

Tim Bennett, owner and operator of the Hank Aaron Sports Academy at Smith-Wills Stadium, did not respond to a Sept. 17 request for comment on Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s letter. 

But he told WLBT in May that the legislation in House Bill 1983 surprised him. “No pun intended, but it kinda hit me out of left field. We’ve been very careful to make sure that we stay compliant,” he said on May 14.

Although Bennett said at the time that his contract allows him to lease out building space on the land to other tenants, WLBT reported that lawmakers may have been targeting the land because of a cigar shop near the stadium.

Rep. Shanda Yates confirmed to WLBT that one reason state officials targeted the land was over a cigar shop on the property. “A portion of the property had been used for a ‘cigar lounge/bar,’” WLBT reported on Sept. 17. “It was the position of the Legislature that this was not consistent with usage as ‘parks and recreation,’ and therefore, the land shall revert back to the state.”

Recently, Bennett and Mayor Lumumba announced a baseball partnership between the City of Jackson and Colombian cities Rionegro and Medellin that they said would increase tourism and advance the sport in both areas. The partnership was set to start in 2025, though its future is now unclear.

‘Not In The Original Bill’

Fitch’s letter to the City of Jackson comes months after Gov. Tate Reeves signed House Bill 1983 into law on May 13. The bond bill included financial appropriations for several projects across the capital city.

Section 22 of House Bill 1983 states: “The Legislature finds:

          (a)  That certain property was conveyed by the State Mineral Lease Commission to the City of Jackson, Mississippi, by a deed executed May 4, 1944, and filed in the land records of the Office of the Chancery Clerk of Hinds County, Mississippi, First Judicial District, and later amended and corrected by a 1947 deed recorded in the land records of the Office of the Chancery Clerk of Hinds County, Mississippi, First Judicial District;

          (b)  The conveyance of property was made subject to, among other things, the condition that the property shall only be used by the City of Jackson for park purposes and purposes incident thereto, and when same shall cease to used for such purposes, said property shall revert to and become property of the State of Mississippi; and

          (c)  That of the property conveyed to the City of Jackson, the subject property as defined in subsection (2) of this section is not being used by the city in compliance with such condition, and therefore, the property must revert to and become property of the State of Mississippi.  

     (2)  The Attorney General shall take all actions necessary to enforce the terms of instrument conveying the property and to have the subject property revert to and become the property of the State of Mississippi.  

     (3)  For the purposes of this section, the term “subject property” means a parcel of land located in the South 1/2 of the Northwest 1/4 of Section 25, Township 6 North, Range 1 East, Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, said property being the property of the City of Jackson as conveyed from the State of Mississippi in 1944 and being more particularly identified as a portion of Hinds County Tax Parcel 444-2.”

A man in a brown tone winter outfit speaks at a podium. Other men can be seen behind him
Mississippi House Rep. Chris Bell, D-Jackson, told the Mississippi Free Press on May 22, 2024, that the language in House Bill 1983 showing the State was interested in repossessing the land where Smith-Wills Stadium sits blindsided him and other lawmakers. “It was not in the original bill that we received,” he said. AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File

But some Jackson lawmakers said in May that the final version of the bill and its implications for Smith-Wills Stadium blinded them.

“It was not in the original bill that we received,” Mississippi House Rep. Chris Bell, D-Jackson, told the Mississippi Free Press in May after Reeves signed the bill into law. “They agreed upon certain projects being in the bond bill which we all had championed for. For them to do this, it was pretty disrespectful.”

While the bill did not explicitly name Smith-Wills Stadium outright, it did mention Hinds County Tax Parcel 444-2, which is the land on Lakeland Drive where the stadium sits.

‘Attacks On The City Of Jackson’

The City of Jackson, led by then-Mayor Tony Yarber, attempted to rezone the land where Smith-Wills Stadium sits in 2014 after retailer Costco expressed interest in developing a location on Lakeland Drive.

Some community members spoke out against the commercialization of the area. Yarber told the Jackson Free Press at the time that developers would be able to build the retail store without tearing down Smith-Wills Stadium.

The City’s rezoning attempt ultimately failed after the Jackson City Planning Board voted against the proposal.

At the time, a letter from then-Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann warned that a change in use of the land could trigger a provision that would revert ownership of the land back to the State.

Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba standing outside in a blue suit and tie. He's standing towards the sunlight and speaking
After Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed House Bill 1983 into law, which included a section referencing the potential repossession of Smith-Wills Stadium, Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba compared the inclusion of the section to other proposed state takeovers of Jackson’s water system and the Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport. Photo by Shaunicy Muhammad

After Reeves signed the bill into law on May 13, Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba spoke out against it.

“The City of Jackson is the owner of that property and we will be the owner in the foreseeable future,” he said during a May 20 press conference. “People need to take their blinders off and see what is taking place on a consistent basis.”

The mayor referenced the City’s fights with the State regarding efforts to take over its water infrastructure, the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport and the Jackson Public School system as other examples. “There is a barrage of attacks on the City of Jackson. … We have to call that what it is. It is paternalistic and it is racist.”

Correction: This story previously mentioned a “quick claim deed”. Fitch’s letter mentions a quit claim deed. We apologize for the error.

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Capital City reporter Shaunicy Muhammad covers a variety of issues affecting Jackson residents, with a particular focus on causes, effects and solutions for systemic inequities in South Jackson neighborhoods, supported by a grant from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. She grew up in Mobile, Alabama where she attended John L. LeFlore High School and studied journalism at Spring Hill College. She has an enduring interest in Africana studies and enjoys photography, music and tennis.