RealGM.com Hosts Orlando-arena.com Guest Article

For those of you who did not get to read my recent guest article on RealGM.com feel free to visit it at:

http://magic.realgm.com/articles/9/20050428/www.orlando-arena.com_takes_on_the_arena_issue/

Special thanks to Howard Mass and RealGM.com.

Also special thanks to Jerry Greene at the Orlando Sentinel for recently mentioning the site in his "Cheap Seats" section.

I have received several emails in support of the site, thank you. Please tell everyone about the site the more support we get the stronger the base. Feel free to email me with any questions, comments and concerns.

The Orange County Convention Center

The Orange County Convention Center has been a new arena’s biggest roadblock. Recently, the Orlando Sentinel did a three day report on the 2003 convention center expansion and how it has affected Orange County.

By the numbers:
$ 748 Million – Cost of the 2003 convention center expansion
$ 111 Million – Amount of the Orange County Tourist Tax in 2004
$ 91.1 Million – Amount of that spent on the convention center

$ 94 Million – Amount spent on the TD Waterhouse Centre through the tourist tax since 1992.
$ 22.2 Million – Amount of money the county would have extra if the tourist tax was the state maximum 6% in 2004

The hoteliers have received everything they have asked for to date. On the other hand, the citizens of Orange County are missing a source of funding utilized by many other Florida counties to improve the offerings for their residents.

"They [the tourism industry] just want it all to go back to advertising and promotion of the convention center," Orange County Commissioner Linda Stewart said. "You understand where they are coming from, but there are other priorities here."

In a recent OrlandoSentinel.com poll the question was asked, “If additional tourist tax funds were available, what would you like it spent on?” Of the 498 responses 51% answered with “A renovated or new arena” over choices that included expansion of the convention center.

Another poll done in February on OrlandoSentinel.com posed, “How important is building a new arena for the Orlando Magic and Orange County?” The 4740 Responses included 50.4% of the vote saying “very important” and 13.7% saying “somewhat important.”

The Orange County Commission led by Orange County Mayor Richard T. Crotty has the final say in how the tax is spent. Should it be spent on a venue that many of us will never visit because the majority of it is for private use or should it be used on a public venue that will host concerts, sports, shows, and community events? This is our opportunity to tell them how we feel.

Sources from the Orlando Sentinel were used to compile this report.

Mayor Dyer and the Arena

David Whitley, a columnist for the Orlando Sentinel, wrote a great article the other day on the Convention Center, the Arena, and Mayor Dyer.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/columnists/orl-sptwhitley21042105apr21,0,1189048.column

Thanks to Howard Mass at www.realgm.com for mentioning Orlando-Arena.com in his recent article.

If you have any comments feel free to email me at Contact@Orlando-Arena.com

Welcome to the Daily Blog of Orlando-Arena.com

Here you will be able to find the most up to date information on our goal to get a new arena built for the residents of Orange County. Since 1989 the TD Waterhouse Centre (formerly the Orlando Arena) has stood in downtown Orlando and unfortunately, it is severely obsolete.

We have created this website because we are concerned with the fact that many people believe that as residents of Orange County they will have to foot the bill for a new arena. This is not entirely true! As shown on the main site the Orange County Tourist Tax is currently at 5%, state law lets you raise the tax to 6%. Further, many of you may believe that the tourist tax itself could be used to improve roads and schools. State law does not allow this, it must be used to enhance tourism in the Central Florida area, one such way is through sporting venues.

I hope that you will find this site as a useful educational tool to help the citizens of Orange County understand the advantages that a new arena could bring to our community. Feel free to comment on any changes I can make to the site to make it more useful, it is still in its beginning stages.

Thank You,

JF