Interoffice Memorandum
DATE: November 26, 2024
TO: Mayor Jerry L. Demings and County Commissioners
THROUGH: N/A
FROM: Ray Walls, Deputy Director, Fiscal and Operational Support, OCCC
CONTACT: Ray Walls
PHONE: 407-685-5684
DIVISION: Fiscal and Operational Support Division
ACTION REQUESTED:
title
Approval of the Tourist Development Tax Sports Incentive Committee’s recommendations for sports incentive funding pursuant to the terms and conditions of funding agreements between Visit Orlando and the following applicants and authorization for Visit Orlando to enter into such agreements as follows: (1) $2,200,000 to Greater Orlando Sports Commission to be used for bid fees ($1.5M), marketing and promotional costs ($300k), and venue rentals ($400k) for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup; (2) $137,500 to Florida Citrus Sports to offset bid fees for the 2025 FC Series - January Edition; and (3) up to $1,500,000 to Florida Citrus Sports to offset bid fees for the 2025 Florida Cup and FC Series - Summer Edition. (Fiscal and Operational Support Division)
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PROJECT: N/A
PURPOSE: On November 1, 2016, the Board authorized consolidated sports funding under the tourist development plan for incentivizing sporting events in Orange County venues. Since 2017, Visit Orlando has provided professional assistance in evaluating sports incentive funding proposals before the Tourist Development Tax Sports Incentive Committee (SIC). Sports incentive funds are held in a separate Visit Orlando account. On October 22, 2019, the Board approved a new tourism promotion agreement pursuant to which Visit Orlando will now administer both the evaluation of proposals and enter into funding agreements with applicants after the SIC funding recommendations have been approved by the Board. On May 21, 2024, the Board approved an amendment to the 2019 agreement with Visit Orlando whereby Visit Orlando will fund up to $10 million annually for incentivizing sporting events as part of this program and allowing that amount to grow in fiscal year 2028 based on increasing Tourist Development Tax collections. At its November 25, 2024, meeting, the SIC recommended approval of three funding requests after hearing presentations from the respective applicants. Visit Orlando’s staff also provided an evaluation of the proposals for consideration by the SIC. 2025 FIFA Club World Cup The SIC recommended approval of Greater Orlando Sports Commission’s (GOSC) request of $2,200,000 to be used in the following manner for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup to be held at both Camping World Stadium and Inter&Co Stadium: $1,500,000 as a bid fee, $300,000 for marketing and promotion, and $400,000 for venue rentals. The event, scheduled to be held sometime between June and July in 2025 (TBD) is a quadrennial tournament featuring 32 teams from all over the world playing at multiple venues across the United States. Combined attendance for the multiple soccer matches is estimated between 220,000 to 260,000, with a projected generation of between 55,000 and 75,000 room nights and an economic impact of approximately $70 million to $90 million. 2025 FC Series - January Edition The SIC recommended approval of Florida Citrus Sports’ (FCS) request of $137,500 to be used to offset bid fees for the 2025 FC Series - January Edition soccer event to be held at Inter&Co Stadium in January 2025. The event will consist of three soccer matches featuring elite Brazilian soccer clubs. Combined attendance for the three matches is expected to be more than 45,000, with a generation of 25,630 room nights, and an economic impact of approximately $18 million. 2025 Florida Cup and FC Series - Summer Edition The SIC recommended approval of FCS’ request of up to $1,500,000 to be used to offset the bid fee for the soccer teams attending the 2025 Florida Cup & FC Series - Summer Edition proposed to be held at Camping World Stadium in July of 2025. The FC Series is an annual sports and entertainment festival that brings international club soccer teams to train and compete in a series of friendly matches. The actual amount of the incentive payment will be based on the Forbes Rankings of the two teams that agree to play in the match. The sliding scale includes a minimum payment of $100,000 bid fee for teams outside of the top 20 of the rankings and a maximum bid fee of $750,000 per team inside the top five of the rankings. Estimated attendance for the event is 60,000, with a generation of 28,000 room nights, and an economic impact of approximately $36 million.
BUDGET: N/A