Amarillo City Council approves use of hotel tax bonds for Hodgetown renovations
The Amarillo City Council approved an ordinance on using part of the Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) revenue bonds to cover the cost of required renovations to Hodgetown, per Major League Baseball regulations, during Tuesday's meeting.
The council unanimously approved the utilization of these funds for improvements to the stadium, which are required by new MLB facility standards in order for the Amarillo Sod Poodles to be able to continue to play at the facility.
During the meeting, city officials stated that some of these improvements include the locker rooms, dining area as well as additional netting added to the stadium as a safety precaution for foul balls. Assistant City Manager Laura Storrs said in the meeting that the estimated cost of these renovations is approximately $4 million.
According to city officials, to cover the cost, an annual amount of $175,000 will come from the city's lease with the ball team from the team's capital reserve funds, with $50,000 stemming from the annual budget of the Amarillo Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) to be utilized for the renovations until the year 2043 (when the HOT bonds mature), with the remaining amount coming from the city's hotel tax collections.
Storrs stated that amounts to about to $155,000 to $157,000 annual funds from the city's Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue being utilized for the renovations. According to the council, last year's hotel tax revenue was just under $9.6 million, and the city deemed the renovations necessary to keep the contract with the ball team from being breached and keep tourists visiting Amarillo.
"The more we invest in these tourism efforts, the more tourists it will bring in, hopefully causing these numbers (HOT tax revenue) to go up," Storrs said during the meeting.
To view the meeting or to the council's agenda, visit them online at https://www.amarillo.gov/city-hall/city-government/city-council .
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo City Council approves use of hotel tax for Hodgetown upgrades
