ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —
A batch of major projects designed to bring more tourists to Orange County got the green light Friday.
The county’s Tourist Development Council voted to recommend thirteen projects and programs to move forward. They would be funded by money from Orange County’s tourist development tax that is charged on hotel stays and restaurant meals.
The biggest project is a $350 million expansion of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Orlando. Plans for a museum in Eatonville would get $60 million, UCF would receive $46 million for a renovated soccer stadium and a new track and field facility, and Camping World Stadium would get $52.5 million for a parking garage.
Mayor Jerry Demings recommended the list of projects after a series of meetings by a citizens advisory task force.
One notable project that would not get any funding is the Orange County Convention Center. Several people connected to the tourism industry spoke before the vote to argue that not enough research had been done to determine whether the plans would actually benefit tourism and bring more people to Orange County.
The critics included members of the council who are hotel and resort executives. Member Raman Rama said the county should not approve all of the projects, especially considering the uncertainty caused by the approval of Amendment 3.
“We are committing that and putting the new leaders into a predicament that’s going to negatively impact them,” Rama said. “They’re not going to be able to reverse what we do today. From that standpoint I still feel we need to slow down, analyze every project for their return on investment, how many rooms they’re going to bring in, how many more tax dollars are they going to generate.”
In the end, tourism industry members were outnumbered by the rest of the council, which includes the mayors of Orange County, Orlando, and Eatonville and a Disney executive.
The final vote was 5-4 in favor of recommending the projects. The plan now goes back to the Orange County Board of Commissioners for a final vote.