Orange County leaders still need to decide how to spend millions of dollars in tourism tax money
With more than 74 million visitors heading to Central Florida attractions last year alone, it’s no surprise Orange County is racked in millions from a tax on hotel stays.
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For weeks, the county has been wrapped up in discussions on how to spend those funds best, but they were still far from a final decision on Tuesday.
“I don’t want to rush to do anything,” said Commissioner Mike Scott. " I don’t think that we should-- I don’t think we serve the public; it’s not in their best interest.”
Commissioners debated five big-ticket facility renovations, and the mayor recommended funding two.
It would cost 500 million to complete the first phase of renovating the Orange County Convention Center. This project would create over a thousand construction jobs and 55 permanent positions after the fact.
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“I want to know what the convention center really costs and how did they come up with that number,” Commissioner Mayra Uribe said.
The second project the mayor recommended would provide 400 million to renovate the Camping World Stadium.
The stadium renovation would create over three thousand construction jobs and more than 6,000 long-term jobs.
While commissioners indicated support for the convention center, nothing was finalized.
" The five packages, they never presented them to us,” Uribe said. " They presented to the task force, tightened their budgets, never came to us, and we should be able to have a fluid discussion,”
What was finalized was another session where commissioners could hear directly from the leaders on those five big-ticket projects.
The county has not set a date yet.
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