Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs today “agreed to work on a tentative deal" that could start construction on "long-delayed Citrus Bowl renovations as early" as '14, according to Schlueb & Damron of the ORLANDO SENTINEL. Jacobs was "asked to share the risk of securing loans for the $175 million project, which she signaled she would be willing to do, so long as it didn't exceed $11 million.” Still unclear is “how Dyer and the city will secure the loans for the work, and he offered no specifics on how he planned to do it.” The potential “breakthrough came during an unusual public summit between the local leaders.” The plan for the delayed stadium renovation was approved in ‘07 “as part of a larger community venues package that included the new Amway Center.” Construction on the Citrus Bowl "was to have started" in '09. But the recession resulted in "a severe drop in tourism," which caused “tourist tax collections -- the main source of funding for the stadium upgrades -- to plummet.” Florida Citrus Sports, the group that organizes the bowl games, said that Orlando “could lose the Capital One and Champs Sports bowls if the stadium isn't renovated soon” (ORLANDOSENTINEL.com, 6/6).
NEEDED TO GET DONE: In Orlando, Damron & Schlueb write Florida Citrus Sports currently pays about $14M to college teams that "play in the Capital One and Champs Sports bowls, money that largely comes from television contracts and other sponsorships.” Stadium boosters have said that it “will be difficult to attract top-tier teams unless the aging stadium is renovated soon” (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 6/6). Also in Orlando, George Diaz wrote, “The improvements would be significant and necessary as the landscape of college football is changing before our eyes.” Teams are moving to a playoff in college football, and Orlando “would be a natural neutral site to host a major playoff game, assuming the Citrus Bowl could spruce things up a little bit.” The city “needs to get in the game or it will lose not only the potential of hosting bigger events, but losing the Capital One Bowl game on New Year’s Day” (ORLANDOSENTINEL.com, 6/5).
