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Dr. Phillips is angling for a multimillion-dollar glow-up. Credit: Dr. Phillips Center\/Google Maps<\/p>\nDr. Phillips is angling for a multimillion-dollar glow-up. Credit: Dr. Phillips Center\/Google Maps<\/p>\n
Orange County commissioners, over the course of a five-hour meeting Monday, moved forward with a controversial tourist tax spending plan that includes $350 million in public money for an expansion<\/a> of the privately owned Dr. Phillips Center, $52.5 million for a parking garage at Camping World Stadium, and $46 million for a UCF soccer stadium.<\/p>\n The spending plan is funded by revenue collected through a 6 percent tax levied on hotel stays in the county, known as the tourist development tax, and totals $786 million for 13 projects (we\u2019ll include a full list at the bottom of this article).\u00a0<\/p>\n An earlier spending proposal gave the Dr. Phillips Center an extra $50 million for its expansion project. But that was reduced at the last minute by county leaders \u2014 with the CEO\u2019s blessing \u2014 in response to concerns about how that would affect the county\u2019s reserves. Originally, the nonprofit performing arts center had requested $750 million, according to county staff.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re making a big mistake,\u201d county commissioner Kelly Semrad stated, ahead of the vote Monday. \u201cThe timing is so awkward.\u201d<\/p>\n Is the timing awkward?<\/p>\n The spending plan was approved in a 6-1 vote, with Semrad as the lone dissenter. The vote came just two weeks ahead of an election that will determine the makeup of a majority of the Orange County Commission.<\/p>\n Three of seven current Commission seats are on the ballot next month \u2014 including Orange County mayor. Orange County voters will also pick two inaugural county commissioners for Districts 6 and 7 \u2014 two new districts created through a vote by Orange County voters in 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, our tenure is \u2014 for some of us \u2014 is just months away,\u201d said outgoing Mayor Jerry Demings. \u201cBut it doesn\u2019t mean that, while we have just months, that we should just sit here and do nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI have put my life on the line for this community,\u201d added Demings, who formerly served as Orange County Sheriff and as Orlando Police Chief. <\/p>\n \u201cMy blood, my sweat, my tears have gone into working on behalf of this community,\u201d he said defensively. \u201cI will not retreat from working in my home and taking care of people who live here. There\u2019s not a decision that I will make that I believe will hurt the people of Orange County.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s not a decision that I will make that I believe will hurt the people of Orange County.\u201d<\/p>\n Orange County mayor Jerry Demings<\/p>\n Revolt over TDT spending<\/p>\n This defensiveness came after dozens of community members, including unionized workers at major theme parks \u2014 and even representatives of tourism giants Universal and SeaWorld themselves \u2014 urged the board of county commissioners to press pause on the tourist tax spending plan.<\/p>\n Critics argued the timeline for determining which projects to fund with the county\u2019s tourist development tax \u2014\u00a0 led by a community advisory task force of 34\u00a0members \u2014 was rushed. Industry stakeholders, including a representative for SeaWorld, argued that industry participation in the decision was \u201climited.\u201d<\/p>\n A letter<\/a> signed by several local hospitality unions, a slate of local Democratic state lawmakers, and community groups including the Sunrise Movement and Support Orlando Shelters, urged the County Commission ahead of the vote to allow more time to review the size and scope of the proposed TDT projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t happen that you get a trifecta where workers, employees, labor unions, businesses and special interests are all asking for a pause unless something needs to be paused,\u201d said Semrad, a professor of hospitality at the University of Central Florida. \u201cThis is an unusual coalition, and it\u2019s something this board should pay attention to.\u201d<\/p>\n County staff countered that, in fact, major tourism interests had declined to participate in the process. \u201c[Mayor Demings] did actually offer three positions to tourism, the three theme parks \u2014 Disney, Universal, SeaWorld \u2014 and they did not choose to put somebody on the task force,\u201d said Demings\u2019 chief of staff Roseann Harrington.<\/p>\n County leaders also noted that there are 30 hours of public task force meetings, available to view online, that support the fact that this was a thoughtful and thorough process.<\/p>\n Ella Wood, political director and organizer for the labor union Unite Here Local 737, was a member of the 34-member task force who helped determine the spending plan. She joined the coalition Monday urging the county to pause the TDT approval process.<\/p>\n \u201cWe voted on which projects generally to move forward for further consideration,\u201d she acknowledged during the public comment period. \u201cWe explicitly didn\u2019t consider how much and in fact didn\u2019t know anything about the funds available until the last day.\u201d<\/p>\n The task force reviewed over $3 billion in funding requests total over the summer, including a $46 million request for a UCF soccer stadium that, according to Wood, was met with lukewarm support.\u00a0<\/p>\n A version of that request was slipped into the final spending plan by Demings\u2019 staff, regardless, without the task force\u2019s recommendation.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to ask you all to respect the work of the task force enough to understand that we did not deliver a mandate asking you to spend all available money,\u201d Wood stated.<\/p>\n Preparing for the future<\/p>\n Concerns were also voiced about the return on investment these publicly subsidized projects would produce, including community impact, job creation, and what they would truly do to attract tourists whose spending helps to support the small businesses that are here full-time.<\/p>\n There are also ongoing efforts to change how TDT funds can be used. Under state law, there are currently limitations on what the hundreds of millions of dollars the county generates in TDT annually can support.<\/p>\n Local Democratic state lawmakers have tried to change the law in Tallahassee to allow TDT to be used to pay for pressing needs like affordable housing, transit and transportation infrastructure. At least 40 percent of TDT, under current law, must be used for tourism marketing.<\/p>\n The tourism industry has lobbied against efforts to change that, but with elections around the corner, some advocates are hopeful that real change could materialize in the coming years. Both of Florida\u2019s gubernatorial candidates have signaled a willingness to sign off on TDT flexibility, if elected.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy don\u2019t we wait and see and maybe we can use [these] funds for transit and housing?\u201d said Nicholas Vitale, speaking on behalf of the youth-led climate justice organization Sunrise Movement. \u201cIf we want any venue to succeed, you\u2019ve got to get people there \u2014 not only tourists, but also locals, both as patrons and workers. Because the tourism economy doesn\u2019t magically operate on its own.\u201d<\/p>\n Demings, however, expressed skepticism toward the \u201cwait and see\u201d approach. Supporters of TDT reform, after all, have been advocating for changes to state law for years.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t operate as a board of county commission based upon \u2018what if.\u2019 We operate in the realm of what is,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Several county commissioners, however, expressed support for smaller, less controversial projects recommended for approval outside the booming I-Drive tourist district. For instance: $25 million for a children\u2019s museum in Winter Garden, $20 million for the creation of a historic district and Community Redevelopment Agency in Eatonville, and $12.5 million for Immerse, an arts and culture festival in downtown Orlando.<\/p>\n Not all of the projects will receive TDT funding all at once. For some projects, funding won\u2019t kick in until anywhere from 2027 to 2029. However, County Comptroller Phil Diamond confirmed that, based on a model of TDT revenue estimates, the county will not have any additional available funding for other TDT-funded projects until 2033.<\/p>\n With Amendment 3 on the ballot this November \u2014 a constitutional amendment that could wipe out hundreds of millions of dollars in property tax revenue for Orange County annually, if passed \u2014 critics worried the spending plan is ill-timed.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are deciding right now whether or not they should vote yes on property tax Amendment 3,\u201d said Semrad. \u201cWe say, \u2018Don\u2019t defund us. We need your money to operate.\u2019 But we give away a billion dollars to tourism. \u2026 It\u2019s not the narrative that sells in the polling booth to protect our funding.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a full list of the projects included in the TDT spending plan:<\/p>\n $350M for the expansion of the Dr. Phillips Center (a new theater, outdoor auditorium, additional parking spaces, etc.)<\/p>\n $52.5M for a parking garage at Camping World Stadium<\/p>\n $46M for a soccer stadium and track facility at UCF<\/p>\n $50M for the creation of an Orange County Eco-Tourism Grant Program\u00a0<\/p>\n $50M for an Orange County Natural Resource Tourism Infrastructure Grant Program\u00a0<\/p>\n $75M for an Orange County Application Review Committee Grant program\u00a0<\/p>\n $12M for an Orange Audubon Natural History Museum at Apopka Birding Park\u00a0<\/p>\n $60M for Dr. Phillips Charities\u2019 Eatonville Museum of Culture and History\u00a0<\/p>\n $25M for I AM Children\u2019s Museum in Winter Garden<\/p>\n $30M for a City of Ocoee golf club and conference campus<\/p>\n $20M for an Eatonville Heritage Tourism District and town of Eatonville CRA<\/p>\n $12.5M for Creative City\u2019s Immerse Festival in Orlando<\/p>\n ~$3M for Orange County Arts and Cultural Affairs (i.e. for additional arts funding, particularly for smaller arts organizations)<\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\tTheir recommendations go to the Board of County Commissioners now\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n![\"Stay](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792758990_797_OW_JoinNewsletter_970x250_1.jpg\")
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