ORLANDO, Fla. — Hundreds of millions of dollars are up for grabs in Orange County. The Orange County Tourist Development Tax Citizen Advisory Task Force met for the fourth time to continue to discuss how to allocate the funds.
The Orlando Dreamers are asking for the biggest chunk of change. There are 17 applicants submitting proposals to the county explaining why they need specific funding.
Three of the four Orange County Mayoral candidates have opposed the Orlando Dreamers receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in Tourist Development Tax dollars. Chris Messina is the lone candidate for the project.
When asked about the opposition, a Dreamers MLB advisor said:
“The biggest thing right now is just look at it,” David Eckstein said. “Look what we can offer. I think we’re offering something that is beneficial to the entire Orange County, and especially in Orlando. I think once they see the economic benefits we can help them with, at the end of the day, they may change their minds.”
The largest TDT request came from the Orlando Dreamers.
The organization is asking for $975 million to help build a baseball stadium as part of its ongoing effort to bring Major League Baseball to the Orlando area.
The Dreamers said the public investment would generate an estimated $32 million annually in new TDT revenue, create more than 38,000 construction jobs and 52,000 permanent jobs, and produce an estimated $72 billion in economic impact over 30 years.
The Dreamers said they have secured $2 billion in private funding and plan to drive growth in the area’s transportation and tourism sectors with their multi-use facility.
The TDT Task Force is scheduled to meet again on August 11th to continue to discuss how to allocate these funds.
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