Orlando Dreamers Announce that Economic Impact and Job Creation Surpass Other Top TDT Uses Combined
, September 7, 2023 (Newswire.com) - Bringing MLB to Orange County to add 25,000 permanent jobs and over $40 billion in economic impact to the county over 30 years
The incremental economic impact and job creation exceed the combined totals of the top 5 TDT Task Force ranked applicants by wide margin
Recommend Mayor Demings and the 6 Orange County Commissioners utilize the Comptroller's office to review and validate the claims of the 11 TDT applicant finalists before making decisions
The Orlando City Baseball Dreamers, LLC (Orlando Dreamers) today announced they have completed a comparison chart detailing the economic benefits of bringing Major League Baseball (MLB) to Orange County against the combined benefits of funding the top 5 Tourist Development Tax (TDT) Task Force ranked applicants. The results from the comparative analysis indicate that bringing MLB to Orlando, playing in the planned domed stadium located on the 35.5 acre parcel adjacent to SeaWorld and the Orange County Convention Center, will yield approximately 25,000 permanent jobs and create in excess of $40 billion in economic impact to Orange County over 30 years.
According to Pat Williams, Co-Founder and President of the Orlando Dreamers, "These results appear to conclude that our MLB initiative on its own will yield economic returns meaningfully beyond the combined benefits of the 5 recommended applicants for future TDT funding. Although we believe the TDT Task Force adequately completed its primary mission of reducing the field of applicants from over 50 down to 11 finalists, the end ranking process was clearly materially flawed. Given these facts that are now evident, the only prudent course of action is to have the indicated benefits of the finalists independently reviewed and validated by technically qualified personnel before making final votes on the use of future TDT funds. Although the Task Force clearly lacked the resources and technical capability to evaluate the financial claims, Phil Diamond and his staff are certainly capable of making these assessments".
Williams further noted that based on the information gleaned in the August 22 Orange County meeting that no meaningful new TDT bonds would be issued prior to fiscal year 2026. As such, no significant construction could start on any projects prior to the issuance of the bonds. "Clearly the concern expressed in the Task Force rankings regarding the criteria of project "shovel readiness" for the various applicants was given an undue amount of emphasis. Further, in reviewing the rankings of the 11 finalists on Anticipated ROI and Economic Benefit, the Dreamers were scored 6th out of the 11 applicants, even though our independently derived results appear to exceed the combined totals of the 5 applicants ranked ahead of us in those categories. These categories are objective rather than subjective in nature, so one can only assume that the Task Force did not request or otherwise receive such information from the other applicants before completing its work and making its recommendations, or the members were not capable of doing these analytical assessments, and therefore the conclusions reached were substantially in error. Scoring the Dreamers as 10th out of the 11th finalists on Project Soundness further emphasizes the broad deficiencies of the work product".
Williams emphasized that the proper solution for use of future TDT funds would be to allocate based on economic return to the county. "Based on the benefits being portrayed by the finalists, it is abundantly clear that the Dreamers' request for MLB stadium funding has earned the right to be the top priority. Presuming that our understanding is correct that Orange County will have the capability of issuing approximately $900 million in additional TDT backed bonds in fiscal 2026, the county should contingently commit that funding capacity to the Dreamers at this stage, dependent upon the providing of unconditional proof prior to the end of fiscal 2025 that Orlando is being awarded an MLB franchise. We are confident with this public funding support for the domed stadium, which the county gets to own, that we will get a Major League Baseball team. If for some reason we fail in this quest, then this funding commitment could instead be immediately directed to the Convention Center expansion and Camping World Stadium. Neither those projects, nor those of the other finalists, are materially compromised by this modest deferral since they could not start construction anyway in the next couple years. On the other hand, if we do not demonstrate in the near term to MLB that we have contingent public funding support for our stadium, our opportunity to get a team is lost forever. We don't get a second chance to go back in a couple years and tell MLB we now have funding in place; we have to show the commitment in the coming months".
Jim Schnorf, CPA and Co-Founder of the Dreamers with Williams added, "Although our original funding request was for $975 million towards stadium construction, with the team contributing $700 million in private financing, we will obtain the additional $75 million privately. Further, the financial model also guarantees Orange County that the team will cover any annual operating deficits incurred by the stadium. Our independent economic impact study demonstrates having MLB here will generate an incremental $26 million in annual TDT revenues to the county, which will be approximately half of the annual debt service to cover payments on the $900 million in TDT bonds. Combined with the $775 million in private financing, the team is effectively paying for almost ¾ of the total cost of the stadium complex which Orange County gets to own. These incremental tax revenues will also provide additional capability for the county to issue TDT bonds for the other applicants in future years".
Williams concluded by emphasizing that the addition of MLB nearby to the Convention Center would generate further support and enthusiasm for organizations considering Orlando for their conventions. He pointed out that seven years ago, Las Vegas had no primary sports teams and Orlando had one. Today, Las Vegas has three counting the pending relocation of the Oakland A's, and will soon have four as the likely next site for an NBA team. Orlando still has only one, and almost assuredly will not be a contender for an NFL or NHL team. He stated, "Barring additional near term sources of additional TDT funding, such as the possibility of diverting some of the major increases in commitments to Visit Orlando in recent years which a couple Commissioners recently questioned, Orange County will be limited in its choices for committing TDT revenues for now. We clearly understand Mayor Demings' concerns about the need to make decisions by the end of this calendar year. Although each of the 11 finalists believe their projects warrant top priority, it is totally apparent by reviewing the comparison chart we compiled that the right solution is to direct the available $900 million in TDT capacity to our MLB stadium initiative, contingent upon us delivering a firm commitment for a team in the next 24 months."
About Orlando City Baseball Dreamers, LLC
Orlando City Baseball Dreamers, LLC was established to bring Major League Baseball to Orlando and Central Florida. The organization is led by Pat Williams, Founder of the Orlando Magic, and updates can be found at www.orlandodreamers.com. Orlando is the largest media market in the United States without a Major League Baseball team, recently surpassing Miami in terms of media market size. Orlando is also the most visited destination in the world.
Contact:
Dave Gentry
RedChip Companies
1-800-733-2447
dreamers@redchip.com
SOURCE: Orlando City Baseball Dreamers, LLC
Source: Orlando City Baseball Dreamers, LLC