ORLANDO, Fla. — Millions of dollars are coming to two big projects in Orange County to benefit both the entertainment and sports industries.
- Tourism development tax dollars will go to Plaza Live, Pro Bowl
- Millions also pledged to Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra
- Florida Citrus Sports wants to keep Pro Bowl in Orlando
Documents obtained by Spectrum News 13 show that tourism development tax dollars will go to help the Plaza Live and efforts to keep the Pro Bowl in the city.
On Tuesday, the Orlando Philharmonic got $3 million to help the city of Orlando purchase the Plaza Live. In addition, the county has pledged $7 million to the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra in its efforts to renovate the historic music venue.
"The overall goal is to increase the capacity, increase the customer experience, by beautiful things that will be done in the facility, and just make it all-around a better place," said Mary Palmer, president of the board of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra.
"There will be better acoustics in our main hall.”
On Monday, the Orlando City Council voted to approve the city’s acquisition of the property, which will be leased back to the Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation for $1 a year.
The Orange County Commission also signed off using tourism tax dollars to pay the NFL two bid fees of $2.7 million each, contingent on the league hosting the Pro Bowl at Camping World Stadium in 2020 and 2021.
A third-party study found the 2019 Pro Bowl brought $45 million to the local economy.
"The hidden gem is the amount of exposure that you really couldn’t afford to buy," Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan said. "(It's a) billion-plus impressions that deal with the Orlando brand associated with the Pro Bowl and social media.”
Florida Citrus Sports has already secured the 2020 Pro Bowl and hopes the financial commitment Tuesday keeps the game in Orlando in 2021.
Just to give you an idea, the tourist development tax, which is collected from visitors staying at hotels, generates about $20 million a month.