A proposed $400 million project to improve Camping World Stadium got a boost Tuesday from Orange County Commissioner Mike Scott, who called the Orlando venue a “good neighbor” that has helped lift the community around it.
He appealed to his board colleagues to consider not only the stadium’s role as host of events drawing hundreds of thousands of tourists annually to Orlando, but its contribution in transforming the neighborhood of West Lakes.
Scott told as an example of how an old funeral home was replaced by an early learning center and a health and wellness facility.
“I think it’s just so significant that a place where life once ended is sustained because we have medical care and we have a mentoring program,” Scott said as he listed opportunities and services available to residents who stayed the the neighborhood.
He initiated the discussion of spending tourist-tax funds on stadium upgrades though the commission isn’t expected to vote on another plan for Tourist Development Tax revenues until Jan. 23, its second meeting of the new year.
Florida Citrus Sports unveils updated renderings of Camping World Stadium
In October, by a 5-2 vote, commissioners green-lighted the use of the tourist revenue for a $560 million expansion of the Orange County Convention Center and a $90 million project on the University of Central Florida campus.
Commissioner Nicole Wilson, who cast a dissenting vote, said Scott’s argument for the stadium was persuasive but should have been raised before the board obligated future tourist-tax money to expanding the convention center again.
The 6% tax added to the cost of a hotel room, an Airbnb rental or other short-term lodging is sometimes called a hotel or tourist tax. Its revenues soared to a record-high of $359 million in fiscal year 2022-23, which ended Sept. 30.
Revenues in the new fiscal year have lagged behind last year’s pace.
Commissioner Mayra Uribe thanked Scott for his presentation, saying it was a part of a larger discussion the board should have before it decides on how to spend tourist tax funding. She has proposed cutting the budget of Visit Orlando, which received about $100 million last year to promote attractions in Central Florida to a global audience.
She said cutting Visit Orlando’s share would allow the board to fund other projects.
“I don’t want to keep discussing it,” Uribe said of tourist-tax options. “But with all due respect, we have to have all the facts and all the information so we can all be comfortably in accordance and move this forward.”
shudak@orlandosentinel.com