A slate of potentially transformative projects, all seeking a slice of Orange County’s substantial hotel tax revenue, will soon be pitched to the task force that will decide their fates — but the financial reality and political will to advance them remain murky.
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They range from ideas as expensive as nearly $1 billion toward a professional baseball stadium to as (relatively) cheap as a $20 million plan to convert a greenhouse owned by the City of Apopka into a natural history museum.
Another 21 projects fall in between, all vying for an infusion of Tourist Development Tax proceeds to make them reality. It’s unclear how much of the county’s growing haul the Tourist Development Tax Citizen Advisory Task Force will decide to allocate in this round of funding.
The task force’s job is to make recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners, who ultimately have final say over what, if anything, is funded. 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.
With the board currently sitting at six voting members – the District 2 seat is vacant – three no votes could sink any proposal.
Here’s 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:
Orlando Dreamers baseball
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.
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 – or if MLB opens up a round of expansion talks in the coming years – the Dreamers want to be ready and believe a commitment of TDT funds could give them a leg up on other cities.
The Dreamers have been eyeing a site near SeaWorld that they say would be perfect for a stadium. But the group doesn’t own the land – Orange County does – and the two sides don’t have an agreement for its use.
The Dreamers’ 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’re requesting $975 million toward what they believe would be a stadium project of about $2 billion, with private financing to cover the rest of the cost.
New to their proposal is a vow to develop a Community Benefits Agreement that “forwards hundreds of millions of dollars of baseball-related revenue to Orange County that can be utilized for key local needs” at the county’s discretion.
Dr. Phillips Center
Downtown Orlando’s 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.
It’s asking for $750 million in hotel tax money to get the project underway – more than the total cost of land acquisition and construction of the current Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.
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 “black box” theater, an 180-seat second-stage theater, and an 800-seat banquet and events space.
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.
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.
Further funding would come from philanthropy, corporate partnerships and other public and private sources.
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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.
Orange County Convention Center
The third-priciest project submitted to the task force is another expansion of the Orange County Convention Center, now the nation’s third-largest visitors’ complex behind McCormick Place in Chicago and the Las Vegas Convention Center.
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.
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’s executive director since Feb. 2020.
The project, deemed “construction ready,” seeks $175 million in each of the next three years.
“This additional space will allow existing clients to expand their events to include more exhibitors and/or attendees,” the application reads. “The 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.”
It also would “complete the vision” 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.
Convention center officials said in their seven-page application that they “conservatively” estimate the completed project to boost their attendance by 150,000 attendees and exhibitors annually.
University of Central Florida
Central Florida’s 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.
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.
If funded, the university plans to begin phased construction in about 2028.
ARC Grant Program
The task force will also be asked to evaluate an appeal to “replenish” 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.
Known as ARC, the committee’s 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.
Among its past grants were nearly $14 million to the Orlando Science Center; $13 million to improve the city of Apopka’s music amphitheater at the Northwest Recreation Complex; $12 million to build auditoriums at the 4Roots campus in Orlando’s Packing District; and $8 million for acquisition and renovations of the Winter Park Playhouse.
ARC only receives “excess” TDT funds, allocated by Orange County commissioners.
Landon said she anticipates the committee also will receive $5 million from Visit Orlando’s share of TDT.
“If multi-year funding is granted, we anticipate additional interested organizations will come forward with requests,” the committee’s petition read. “Arts and cultural venues throughout Orange County’s 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.”
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