By Marvin G. Cortner

To avoid showing favoritism to one property owner over another, Osceola County Commissioner John Quiñones cut short a presentation Monday on a 217-acre site being offered for sale to the county by Osceola Development Trust for a proposed tourist-tax funded sports complex.

The proposal involves 17 ball fields and a 50,000-square foot multi-use indoor facility to be used for expanded athletic events sponsored by the United States Specialty Sports Association, which has its national headquarters at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee.

The expansion, officials said, could generate thousands of additional overnight stays in local hotels, motels and resorts as well as additional property and sales taxes.

Quiñones stopped the presentation because he said other landowners would want the same chance to pitch their properties at a commission meeting and that some other mechanism should be in place to review sites.

County Manager Michael Freilinger said a site selection committee had been established previously and that several sites had been considered, with the association picking the Trust property as the most conducive to ball fields. Freilinger said the Judge property adjacent to Osceola Heritage Park had been the preferred site initially but that discussions with the owner had “taken too long.”

The county manager at Quiñones’ suggestion now will develop and advertise a request for proposal for obtaining property offers, a selection committee will review and rank the offers and then commissioners will review the most feasible sites, followed by negotiations with landowners when appropriate.

Tom Franklin, whose presentation was cut short and who was representing Osceola Development Trust’s Myron M. Miller, of West Palm Beach, said the site is “ready to go” if the county decides to purchase it. The offering price for the land is $115,000 per acre, according to documents provided by the county.

Don DeDonatis, chairman of the board and CEO of the sports association, said his group could not bring any additional events to the county due to facility limitations.

DeDonatis said the county would own the sports complex, which would be built to association specifications, and the association would manage it, without any financial risk to the county if revenue wasn’t enough to cover debt service. He said the indoor facility would be used for any sport in which the association is now involved.

Cost of the facility, DeDonatis said, could run anywhere from $29 million to $42 million, not including the property.

Randy Dillard, representing the Osceola Resort Area Council (ORAC), told commissioners that the county when investing tourist development taxes in the past has focused mainly on areas east of Hoagland Boulevard in Kissimmee, in such facilities as Osceola County Stadium and Osceola Heritage Park, the county softball complex off John Young Parkway and the Kissimmee Convention and Visitors Bureau office.

“My suggestion is that you pay attention to where we put the money, not only what we invest in,” he said. “ORAC now has a narrow focus: To (have Osceola County) become the sports capitol of Florida.”

Dillard urged county commissioners to purchase land for the facility as soon as possible.

DeDonatis said the association would need anywhere from 150 to 200 acres for the expansion. He said a number of sites were considered and that the association would be happy with a facility “anywhere in the county,” not necessarily the Miller property.

Miller initially wanted to sell 550 acres to the county. Legacy North LLC owns the conservation easements on the site, which is in the Shingle Creek watershed.