Orange County commissioners decided Tuesday to pledge nearly $800 million in future tourist-tax revenue to expand the Convention Center another time, enhance the University of Central Florida’s football stadium and provide more funding to local arts groups.

Representatives of the Convention Center greeted the 5-2 vote for their $560 million request with applause and some UCF backers in the audience exclaimed “Charge On,” the university’s battle cry.

The UCF vote was unanimous.

The board put off decisions on funding applications submitted for three city of Orlando venues — Amway Center, Camping World Stadium and the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

Commissioners said they still had doubts about the projects and potential risks.

“There were just a lot more questions than answers,” Commissioner Myra Uribe said.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who opened public comment Tuesday by crediting the region’s “culture of collaboration” for helping the community to grow, had lobbied for the venues.

“Major sports and entertainment events add to our community’s vitality and have a tremendous impact on our economy. If we want to continue to host the biggest and best events, we must invest in our community venues to ensure they continue to be an economic engine for our region,” he said after the meeting. “We know that this is a process, and we look forward to these continued conversations.”

Commissioners Emily Bonilla and Nicole Wilson voted against the expansion of the Pentagon-sized convention center, a previously approved project halted in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic when theme parks closed and tourist-tax collections cratered to all-time lows.

“I will continue to have grave concerns about its return on investment,” Wilson said.

She and Bonilla want an independent economic analysis of the expansion.

UCF originally sought $176.6 million to build a sports village as it entered a new era as a member of the Big 12 Conference but pared its appeal to $88 million for a tower at FBC Mortgage Stadium.

The board also approved funding increases for the Application Review Committee ($75 million over the next five years) and for Arts & Cultural Affairs (about $69 million over the next five years). The organizations distribute money to art and cultural groups.

Tourist-tax task force recommends more funding for arts, sports

Demings praised the board’s decisions but added that “dialogue will continue” about the Orlando venues and future funding of Visit Orlando, the tourism industry’s marketing arm in Central Florida.

Some commissioners say Visit Orlando gets too much of TDT revenues for its work.

“This is my home, and I feel good about the decisions made that will translate to investments in our community,” Demings said. “It’s an affirmation that this Board of County Commission also believes in our community.”

Before the meeting started, Comptroller Phil Diamond delivered some bad TDT news.

TDT is an acronym for the Tourist Development Tax, sometimes called a bed or hotel tax, the 6% levy tacked onto the cost of a hotel room, a home-sharing rental like Airbnb or other short-term lodging.

August TDT collections totaled $22.1 million, a fine number for most Florida counties but a so-so month for Orlando, which prides itself as the nation’s tourism capital. The total was  5.6% less than a year ago in Orange County and the fifth consecutive drop in monthly collections compared against the previous year.

The string of lower numbers has followed a streak of 14 consecutive record highs.

With receipts yet to be counted for September, the final month in fiscal year 2022-23, TDT collections through 11 months total about $333 million — $3 million shy of last year’s record haul.

Diamond, whose office tracks the tax, said the decline is a result of increased competition in an evolving global travel market where tourists have more choices with international destinations now fully open after several years of precautionary COVID-19 closures and restrictions.

Orange County commissioners accept TDT task force report but question recommendations

All five projects pitched to the board Tuesday were endorsed this summer by a citizens task force assembled by Demings to sift through 55 funding requests totaling $3.8 billion.

Throughout the summer, Diamond urged caution with TDT spending.

He has not endorsed or opposed any of the projects seeking TDT funding but forecast a modest revenue growth of 2% next year and suggested the board take a conservative approach with new spending.

He said his forecast of modest TDT growth is similar to the financial modeling the county used when commissioners agreed in 2007 to support the construction of three major projects.

That agreement helped pay for the Amway Center, the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and the overhaul of the former Florida Citrus Bowl, now known as Camping World Stadium.

shudak@orlandosentinel.com