AD sees tax request as growth opportunity
A hard rain pelted the windows of Terry Mohajir’s office in Roth Athletic Center on Friday afternoon, briefly obscuring the view of the southwest corner of FBC Mortgage Stadium and the nearby football practice fields.
Not that the UCF athletics director would have noticed as he was briefly lost in thought as he examined a two-page document that could be a crucial part of the department’s vision for the future as the school moves to the Big 12 next month.
The document contained talking points from the university regarding its application requesting $176 million in funding from the Orange County Tourism Development Tax Citizen Advisory Task Force. The money would be used towards the department’s proposed $267.8 million Athletics Village.
The village is part of UCF’s Mission 12 initiative, a fundraising campaign to upgrade facilities such as FBC Mortgage Stadium and Addition Financial Arena. It aims to build a destination for the program’s athletes and provide visitors with a world-class experience.
This is the first time UCF has requested funds from the Tourism Development Tax. The request came about after Mohajir spoke with Orange County mayor Jerry Demings during an early meeting when he first arrived at the school in 2021.
“I asked about VisitOrlando and tourism taxes or bed tax and he explained there were opportunities down the road,” said Mohajir. “I started doing more research on campus and realized we’ve never applied for it.”
The TDT is a 6% levy added to a hotel room or other shortterm lodgings cost. The revenues generated are earmarked for development in the arts and sports communities to attract more tourism to the Central Florida area.
“This was an opportunity that I wanted to pursue,” Mohajir said. “I started doing our research, engaged the whole campus and got UCF President Dr. Alexander} Cartwright’s approval to go for it and we started putting together our case for it.”
UCF worked with the Greater Orlando Sports Commission and VisitOrlando on a tourism study before submitting its request. It found that the athletics department generates $91 million in economic impact annually, attracting approximately 212,858 visitors outside of a 50-mile radius of Orlando and 199,942 room nights.
According to the school, a move to the Big 12 would open the community to new visitors year-round and make Orlando the preeminent host city for conference and NCAA competitions.
UCF Athletics cannot receive state funding for facility upgrades so requesting TDT funds is even more crucial.
Mohajir points out that the $176.6 million request for a 10-year period is two-thirds of the proposed project’s total cost. While the department has raised $26.85 million through its Mission 12 initiative, the rest of the capital will come through philanthropy, corporate partnership and premium seat revenue.
“We didn’t want to ask for all of it because we’re going to do some fundraising,” he said. “We wanted to be respectful and collaborative with other entities also looking at receiving some of these dollars. We tried to make it as easy for them to decide as possible.”
Mohajir presented his original plan for the Athletics Village on August 2021.
Those changed, however, with the latest proposal coming in several phases. Phase One would feature a standalone football operations building, McNamara Cove with a recovery river and the new Gateway at Nicholson Plaza.
Phase Two would involve building a new west side tower to the stadium, replacing the current Roth Tower. The new tower would be the home to the Launch Club, suites and new seating opportunities.
The department is already moving forward with $12 million of enhancements to Additional Financial Arena, the Venue and the surrounding Knights Plaza. That project is being funded through Mission 12.
UCF is scheduled to present to the task force on June 16. It will make recommendations to the Orange County commissioners, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Demings, who will ultimately decide on how the more than $300 million in tourism reserves will be used.
“UCF aspires to be the preeminent collegiate collaborator for the regional growth of sports tourism,” said Mohajir.
If UCF receives the go-ahead for funding, Mohajir said it would speed up the design phase and move up the timeline to get shovels in the ground.
“We’ll take as much as they’ll give us,” he said.
But if UCF doesn’t get any of the funding, it won’t dampen the efforts for the village.
“This university has built these athletics program off philanthropists and private support in this community,” he said. “So we’ll have to go back to doing it the old-fashioned way and try to garner private support.”