By Marvin G. Cortner
Editor

Local tourism officials July 1 established their priority list for spending Osceola County lodging tax revenue, with amateur sports taking the top spot.

The Osceola County Tourist Development Council’s three other priorities, in descending order, were: improvements to Osceola Heritage Park, a joint marketing campaign with ESPN Disney to brand the county as the “amateur sports capital of the world” and development of a Shingle Creek nature center on the former Roadhouse Grill restaurant property on West U.S. Highway 192 as a way to promote eco-tourism.

The proposal to expand amateur sports as way to produce additional overnight stays in the county is from the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) whereby the county would acquire land for a sports complex and then build the complex on that land to association specifications. The association would then manage and maintain the facility.

The sports complex project (which would include both an indoor facility and outdoor playing fields) could cost up to an estimated $50 million, depending on the site chosen. Complex development costs alone could run $32 million. The county currently has about $12 million in tourist tax reserves to spend or leverage for non-recurring projects such as this.

The council’s priority list did not include development of a museum of military history to replace the Veterans Tribute and Museum now located in Osceola Square Mall, nor money for relocating Osceola County Historical Society buildings to the county-owned Roadhouse Grill site on Shingle Creek.

Before the council as a group set its priorities, member Cheryl Grieb – the city of Kissimmee’s representative – said the county has to be “as careful as possible” with its tourism dollars, given the uncertainty of the economy. She said she would prefer the county not undertake any major projects at this time until a clearer picture of the tourism industry emerges.

Council members also took issue with individual project proposals.

George Chen asked why the county should take on ESPN as a partner at a cost of $3.3 million per year for three years when the result of that effort could be to drive overnight stays to Disney resorts, not to the smaller lodging businesses.

“Just because Disney wants to do it doesn’t make it right,” Chen said, adding that the county should consider the proposal only if all interests are served by it. “Disney is building more low-cost hotel rooms and we want to give them money when our small hotels are struggling?”

Chen also asked why the USSSA project couldn’t be done on an “incremental basis,” with existing ball fields around the county – at high schools, for example – being rented when needed, just as local school gyms are being rented this summer for Youth Basketball of America tournaments.

Chuck McLendon said he is worried about the cost of the USSSA project and that the association ought to invest money in the project up front as a way to reduce the county’s financial exposure.

Council members generally agreed that Osceola Heritage Park needs further investments to help reduce losses there. Buying additional wooden playing surfaces for use in the Silver Spurs Arena and the Exhibition Building for amateur sports events would be one way to generate additional overnight stays, council members said. In addition, several council members said Osceola Heritage Park would be a good location for the military museum and that land directly across U.S. Highway 192 from the park would be a good site for the USSSA project.

The current request for OHP improvements includes additional stables for rodeo and equestrian events as well as improvements to the arena, such as freight elevators.

More on

ESPN deal

Faron Kelley, director of marketing for ESPN’s Wide World of Sports, said the county should not enter into a marketing partnership with ESPN unless it first has in place additional wooden playing surfaces at Osceola Heritage Park and an “acquisition fund” to help bring amateur athletic events to Osceola County.

Kelley said ESPN currently has 30 days worth of competition that could be held at Osceola Heritage Park and that the county’s $400,000 investment in nine additional portable wooden courts would be paid back in three years through rental fees from ESPN.

“Plus, you would have the lodging impact,” Kelley said, adding that ESPN would be “happy to be the extended marketing arm of Osceola County.”

Kelley also said any event contracts ESPN would get using the county acquisition fund could spell out how many room nights would have to be driven to non-Disney resorts in Osceola County.

Other priorities set

The council also established its priority list for recurring annual expenses that members believe should be covered by tourism dollars. That list includes: $300,000 for the Osceola Center for the Arts; $1 million for increased international marketing efforts to bring tourists to Osceola County; and $564,000 to help the county develop and operate certain county parks adjacent to streams or lakes for eco-tourism.

The council also recommended cutting its annual promotional grant program by one-third for three years, until tourist tax revenue improves. That program currently is budgeted for $435,000 a year.

Tourism revenue is generated through a 6 percent tax on overnight stays of 180 days or less on all lodging businesses, including timeshares.

The Tourist Development Council makes recommendations to the Osceola County Commission on how tourist tax funds should be spent.

Tourist taxes were down in May

Osceola County’s tourist development tax revenue fell 2.4 percent in May following a 9.2 percent drop in April, according to the latest report from the Osceola County Tax Collector’s office.
Tax revenue for the first eight months of the fiscal year, which started Oct. 1, is down 6.6 percent compared to last year for the same period. Monthly revenue from the tax has been below previous year totals for six out of eight months, with three of those dips into the double digits. Only one month besides March showed a positive number: November revenue was up 7.9 percent.
The average daily room rate in April was down 9.9 percent – at $69.44 this year versus $77.10 last year. The hotel/motel occupancy rate for the month fell 3 percent, dropping to 44.7 percent this year compared to 46.1 percent last year. The occupancy and average daily room rates do not include Disney All-Star resorts.
About $2.22 million was collected in tourist taxes in May.
Osceola County collects a 6 percent tax on overnight stays of 180 days or less.