The future of the Citrus Bowl will be discussed when Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs meet today.
Long in need of renovation, there is no agreement between the two mayors on who should pay for the 76-year-old stadium’s overhaul.
Initially conceived as a Community Venues project with a renovation price tag of $175 million, its refurbishment fell by the wayside, when the recession hit and tourist tax dollars, intended to be used for yearly debt payments on the planned issuance of city bonds, plummeted.
Now the city is in no position to borrow the money and Jacobs has other priorities like, the Orange County Convention Center.
Talk of a public-private partnership as another option has been mentioned, but Dyer does not see this as being realistic.
But perhaps all is not lost. Jacobs has a proposal to sweeten the pot, at least to keep the two big college bowl games in town. Her plan is to increase the payout to the participating teams to the tune of about $2 million a year from tourist tax dollars, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Florida Citrus Bowl Chief Executive Officer Steve Hogan, while supportive of anything that promotes tourism said, the Citrus Bowl will still be in need of renovation and that problem will remain, the paper reports.
