Pinellas County commissioners on Tuesday vote on amendments to their tourism development plan that would allow bed taxes to be used for construction of a new aquarium, a move that could open the way for the taxes to go toward Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s $160 million expansion plan.O'Donnell added that beach renourishment may be an increasingly-greater priority for the county as questions arise about cuts to federal funding. A Shadow of the Stadium post back in March foreshadowed the impending conflict between stadium subsidies and beach dollars.
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Further hindering the Rays is that while they are tied up in negotiations, projects competing for a share of the taxes are moving ahead. State lawmakers awarded $2 million for the aquarium project from the state’s proposed $77 billion budget. The $1.2 million lawmakers allocated for a proposed Olympic BMX facility in Oldsmar, however, could mean the city will not apply for bed taxes if the item survives Gov. Rick Scott’s veto pen.
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(Bed) taxes also are viewed as a crucial part of publicly funding a sports stadiums, not least because the tax is levied on tourists and not residents, making it an easier sell for local politicians concerned about re-election.
But the silver lining for Pinellas County is it can still add another penny to its tourist tax since its a "high-impact" tourism county. Hillsborough County is not. And that penny could be bonded out to about $100 million for construction/infrastructure purposes. Which, on top of existing stadium revenue streams, is why Pinellas remains the favorite to (one day) build the Rays a replacement home.
So if the Rays ever getting around to asking Pinellas County for money, there is still hope...unless, of course, MLB fails to address recently-passed legislation that punishes it for its current Cuban policy...or Pinellas County decides to throw its available money at a new stadium for the Rowdies...
Here's an idea . . . howsabout we stop soaking the tourists?
ReplyDeleteJust a thought.