Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tourism Improvement District topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Seminole County adopts tourism improvement district, sets advisory board to fund indoor sports plan
Summary
The Board adopted an ordinance creating a Seminole County Tourism Improvement District (TID) and authorized an advisory board to manage levy proceeds; county staff said petitions representing 2,679 rooms (exceeding the 50% threshold) support a $1.75 per-room, per-day assessment with an estimated first-year revenue of about $3.2 million.
The Seminole County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously Feb. 25 to form a Tourism Improvement District and to authorize a county-administered advisory board to oversee the district, a funding mechanism the county intends to use to support sports-tourism infrastructure including a proposed indoor sports facility.
Guy Cunha, presenting for county staff, said the procedural ordinance for the TID was adopted May 17, 2024, and that the formation requires a district plan, an assessment map, petitions signed by owners representing 50% or more of qualified rooms and an advisory board. Cunha said the county identified 5,054 qualified hotel rooms countywide under Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) rules; the 50% petition threshold therefore is 2,527 rooms. Cunha said the petition collection yielded 2,679 rooms in favor for a 10-year term (unless tied to bond financing), and staff estimates about $3,200,000 in gross annual revenue in year one if the board adopts the assessment at $1.75 per qualified room per day.
The board also approved the TID advisory board structure. Cunha said the advisory board will meet quarterly and include seven seats: one appointment by each commissioner (five), one appointment by the county manager (at-large seat), and one appointment by the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association (CFHLA). Cunha said each appointed seat (commissioner appointees and the CFHLA appointee) must be a Seminole County hotelier (operator or owner, per state statute); the county tourism office will serve as the advisory board secretary.
Public commenters included hoteliers, the Seminole County Tourism Development Council chair and sports-tourism advocates. Kristen Oswald, a hotel general manager, said local hotels need weekday and year-round demand drivers and urged support for the TID and the indoor complex plan. Jason Siegel of the Greater Orlando Sports Commission and Robert Agrusa of the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association also addressed the board in support, citing room-night generation and economic impact potential.
Commissioners moved to adopt the TID formation ordinance and also to authorize the chairman to execute a resolution creating a Seminole County Administrative Code section establishing the TID Advisory Board with duties, membership terms and reporting requirements. Both motions passed unanimously.
Cunha said next steps include the levy taking effect March 11 and a summer 2025 deep dive into the proposed indoor sports facility and its benefit plan. The levy would be collected monthly by the Seminole County Tax Collector alongside tourist-development tax collections. Staff and private-sector speakers said surplus TID funds must be used per the district plan and that no property would be assessed twice under the TID rules.
