MLS All-Star Game bid could involve some tourist-tax funds
the MLS All-Star Game in the newly built Orlando City soccer stadium could become a reality as early as August 2019.
But first, government leaders have a narrow window to vet a request for spending $350,000 of tourist tax money to offset the cost of bringing the marquee soccer event to Orlando.
“I’m very enthused. I’d love to see us bring it here. We have a phenomenal new stadium,” Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs told Jason Siegel, interim president of the Central Florida Sports Commission, as he made his pitch Friday for financial supHosting port. “I think we’re all concerned about the time frame and what your deadlines are.”
A bid must be submitted to Major League Soccer by Aug. 25 in order to host the 2019 game, Siegel said as he briefed officials at the tourist development council meeting.
The Orange County advisory board — on which Jacobs and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer sit — voted Friday to support bringing the all-star game to the Orlando City stadium. But they stopped short of recommending how much money should be given.
If money is approved, it would be the first time the 6 percent tax on hotels and motels was used to support an event run by a private group, Jacobs said.
The Orlando City Soccer Club privately financed construction for the new stadium that opened in March. The club also privately runs it.
“We can’t have anybody suggest the money we give goes to a private entity to make a profit,” Jacobs said, stressing the tax dollars should only “backstop operational losses.”
“We all know the stadium was going to be a public stadium — the reality is it’s not today. We have to be mindful of perception and legislative concern.”
The sports commission estimated it would cost $350,000 in operational expenses to host the game, adding that it would not receive ticket sales revenue in what might be a sellout. The money could come from a $5 million sports incentive fund — dollars the county approved but has not set up yet — which would require an Orange County commission vote.
Jacobs said she was confident the board vote could be done in August after staff analyzed the proposal’s numbers, such as the hotel demand the game is expected to generate, although she said, “We’re up against a real tight deadline.” At the meeting, Dyer voiced frustration about the community not providing a unified front to land major sporting events.
“Being agile and chasing some of these sports events is critically important. We’re way behind a number of communities,” he said.
Orlando City CEO Alex Leitão said it’s been a longterm goal to bring the game to Orlando since the franchise started.
“It’s all for the fans,” he said Friday as he traveled with the team to Chicago for this weekend’s upcoming match. “We’re not talking about the game — we’re talking about a week of celebrating soccer in Orlando. I think Orlando has been proven as a soccer city with passionate fans. It’d be great for having the event in their home.”
In March, Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber said he was committed to making that happen, although he did not say when.
Siegel described the allstar game as an hours-long “commercial for our destination” to promote Orlando. Weeklong events leading up to the game could also help fill 6,700 hotel beds.
The sports commission’s request for money comes in the same week as Orange County Convention Center officials announced they want up to $500 million in hotel tax dollars for two new additions to increase exhibit space.
Last year, the county board approved spending $3 million of the hotel tax to bring the NFL Pro Bowl Game from Hawaii to Camping World Stadium for the next three years.