{"id":352856,"date":"2026-07-26T11:48:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T11:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/352856\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T11:48:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T11:48:15","slug":"orange-tdt-board-to-consider-stadiums-theaters-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/352856\/","title":{"rendered":"Orange TDT board to consider stadiums, theaters and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

A slate of potentially transformative projects<\/a>, all seeking a slice of Orange County\u2019s substantial hotel tax revenue, will soon be pitched to the task force that will decide their fates \u2014 but the financial reality and political will to advance them remain murky.<\/p>\n

They range from ideas as expensive as nearly $1 billion toward a professional baseball stadium to as (relatively) cheap as\u00a0a $20 million plan to convert a greenhouse owned by the City of Apopka into a natural history museum.<\/p>\n

Another 21 projects fall in between, all vying for an infusion of Tourist Development Tax proceeds to make them reality. It\u2019s unclear how much of the county\u2019s growing haul the Tourist Development Tax Citizen Advisory Task Force will decide to allocate in this round of funding.<\/p>\n

The task force\u2019s job is to make recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners, who ultimately have final say over what, if anything, is funded.\u00a0 At least three members of the board are skeptical of the process kicked off by Mayor Jerry Demings, who hoped to complete the funding round before his mayoral term is up at the end of the year.<\/p>\n

With the board currently sitting at six voting members \u2013 the District 2 seat is vacant \u2013 three no votes could sink any proposal.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at the five largest proposals, [the highest profile of the bunch, all of which would make sweeping changes to the county as its residents know it and all valued at $100 million or more:<\/p>\n

Orlando Dreamers baseball<\/p>\n

The largest ask comes from a well-publicized group of investors hoping the task force will infuse their Major League Baseball dreams with mountains of tourist cash, which they say will help position them to build a big-league ballpark.<\/p>\n

\"AA conceptual rendering of the stadium sought by the Orlando Dreamers on county-owned land just south of the interchange of State Road 528 and International Drive. (Orlando Dreamers)<\/p>\n

The group, which made a similar pitch in 2023, thinks it might be better positioned this time around as the Tampa Bay Rays stadium saga remains unsettled. If the Rays were to explore relocation \u2013 or if MLB opens up a round of expansion talks in the coming years \u2013 the Dreamers want to be ready and believe a commitment of TDT funds could give them a leg up on other cities.<\/p>\n

The Dreamers have been eyeing a site near SeaWorld that they say would be perfect for a stadium. But the group doesn\u2019t own the land \u2013 Orange County does \u2013 and the two sides don\u2019t have an agreement for its use.<\/p>\n

The Dreamers\u2019 application says the money would be used to build a 45,000-seat domed stadium capable of hosting Major League games as well as concerts and youth and collegiate sports tournaments. They\u2019re requesting $975 million toward what they believe would be a stadium project of about $2 billion,\u00a0with private financing to cover the rest of the cost.<\/p>\n

New to their proposal is a vow to develop a Community Benefits Agreement\u00a0that \u201cforwards hundreds of millions of dollars of baseball-related revenue to Orange County that can be utilized for key local needs\u201d at the county\u2019s discretion.<\/p>\n

Dr. Phillips Center<\/p>\n

Downtown Orlando\u2019s world-class performing arts center has plans to expand its campus from 9 theaters to 20, according to its application, as part of a master plan priced at $1.4 billion.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s asking for $750 million in hotel tax money to get the project underway \u2013 more than the total cost of land acquisition and construction of the current Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.<\/p>\n

\"PatronsThe Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts seeks to build out its north and eastern expansions. (Orlando Sentinel file)<\/p>\n

The money would kickstart building out what the applicants call the North Block, located on the north side of South Street east of the Grand Bohemian Hotel. The plan proposes a 750-seat theater, a 200-seat \u201cblack box\u201d theater, an 180-seat second-stage theater, and an 800-seat banquet and events space.<\/p>\n

It also includes developing the East Block, behind its existing campus, where the center wants to build another performance venue, studio space, administrative facilities and a 1,150-space parking garage.<\/p>\n

Money would also be put toward a rooftop venue, upgrades to the Walt Disney Theater and improvements to the lobby and donor spaces, according to its application.<\/p>\n

Further funding would come from philanthropy, corporate partnerships and other public and private sources.<\/p>\n

The proposal asks for the money to be doled out over a five-year period, which includes $250 million payments in 2029 and 2030 and smaller increments in the other three years.<\/p>\n

Orange County Convention Center<\/p>\n

The third-priciest project submitted to the task force is another expansion of the Orange County Convention Center, now the nation\u2019s third-largest visitors\u2019 complex behind McCormick Place in Chicago and the Las Vegas Convention Center.<\/p>\n

The proposed expansion, estimated to cost $540 million, including design, would add a 200,000-square-foot, column-free, multi-purpose hall with retractable seating to accommodate 8,000 guests.<\/p>\n

\"AttendeesAttendees at the AAU Girls’ Junior National Volleyball Championships at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando make their way through the concourse on Monday, June 29, 2026. (Rich Pope\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Its design cost of $17.7 million has already been paid for, according to a funding application signed by Mark Tester, who has served as the center\u2019s executive director since Feb. 2020.<\/p>\n

The project, deemed \u201cconstruction ready,\u201d seeks $175 million in each of the next three years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis additional space will allow existing clients to expand their events to include more exhibitors and\/or attendees,\u201d the application reads. \u201cThe project will also allow for the pursuit of events that the [convention center] was unable to accommodate due to lack of exhibit space, as well as the layering of additional smaller events during the move-in\/move-out period of larger events.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also would \u201ccomplete the vision\u201d conceived for the North-South building that was put on hold twice, first in the wake of the 9\/11 attacks in 2001 and then during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic when TDT revenues cratered to historic lows as theme parks closed.<\/p>\n

Convention center officials said in their seven-page application that they \u201cconservatively\u201d estimate the completed project to boost their attendance by 150,000 attendees and exhibitors annually.<\/p>\n

University of Central Florida<\/p>\n

Central Florida\u2019s flagship university is seeking to make a nine-figure investment in its athletics facilities, including $51 million toward broadcast and event infrastructure at the Acrisure Bounce House football stadium, a new $43.6 million joint stadium for its soccer and track and field programs, and a new $24.2 million softball stadium.<\/p>\n

\"UCF'sUCF wants millions for improvements to Acrisure Bounce House Stadium, as well as two other new stadiums. (Willie J. Allen Jr.\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

The new facilities would allow the east Orange campus to host major events like the NCAA East Regional Track & Field Championships, Big 12 Track & Field Championships, professional soccer training camps, early-season softball tournaments, as well as other amateur events.<\/p>\n

If funded, the university plans to begin phased construction in about 2028.<\/p>\n

ARC Grant Program<\/p>\n

The task force will also be asked to evaluate an appeal to \u201creplenish\u201d the Orange County Application Review Committee Grant Program, which has awarded or pledged more than $70 million in tourist-tax funds over a five-year span to help municipalities and local groups pay for capital projects at arts venues.<\/p>\n

Known as ARC, the committee\u2019s volunteer board is seeking $15 million to $20 million a year over five years, totaling between $75 million and $100 million to refill its funding account, according to the document submitted by paid administrator Vicki Landon.<\/p>\n

Among its past grants\u00a0were nearly $14 million to the Orlando Science Center; $13 million to improve the city of Apopka\u2019s music amphitheater at the Northwest Recreation Complex; $12 million to build auditoriums at the 4Roots<\/a> campus in Orlando\u2019s Packing District; and $8 million for acquisition and renovations of the Winter Park Playhouse.<\/p>\n

ARC only receives \u201cexcess\u201d TDT funds, allocated by Orange County commissioners.<\/p>\n

Landon said she anticipates the committee also will receive $5 million from Visit Orlando\u2019s share of TDT.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf multi-year funding is granted, we anticipate additional interested organizations will come forward with requests,\u201d the committee\u2019s petition read. \u201cArts and cultural venues throughout Orange County\u2019s 1000 square miles continue to be one of the greatest needs for our community as so many existing spaces find themselves in need of repair and expansion, and up against capacity and scheduling limits.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A slate of potentially transformative projects, all seeking a slice of Orange County\u2019s substantial hotel tax revenue, will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":352857,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[2813,558,111,104,28,114,266,115,1335,139,141,140,99,109,110,106,1316],"class_list":["post-352856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-arts","tag-business","tag-college-sports","tag-entertainment","tag-florida","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-orange-county","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-politics","tag-social","tag-sports","tag-things-to-do","tag-tourism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/352857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}