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Looks like the magic are seeking ~250 million to renovate the amway center in tourist tax money. Anyone have an inside track on what they hope to spend it on?

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/05/10/orlando-baseball-convention-center-hotel-tax/?fbclid=IwAR1XJ4dXITKEReBlGgOHl9OOxIS541VnTbDWInkghp6b4o5jHudplX9Td_M

I find this very interesting considering how new Amway Center is. I think RDV Corp is probably trying to undercut the baseball stadium ambitions Pat Williams is spearheading. If I’m the Orange County Tourist Tax Commission I’m letting the Magics request fall on deaf ears right now. Amway doesn’t need any upgrades outside of maybe parking. I think luring MLB would be a major coup for the area.

I think constantly investing in keeping the space nice is important but 250m makes me wonder if something is wrong with the venue. Unless they’re hoping to find their project next door?

Max Power wrote:I find this very interesting considering how new Amway Center is. I think RDV Corp is probably trying to undercut the baseball stadium ambitions Pat Williams is spearheading. If I’m the Orange County Tourist Tax Commission I’m letting the Magics request fall on deaf ears right now. Amway doesn’t need any upgrades outside of maybe parking. I think luring MLB would be a major coup for the area.

I can assure you that there will be no Major League Baseball team in Orlando.

The fact that the local media is covering this "story" like it's real is truly sad and pathetic. People are so scared to criticize Pat Williams, but he has literally nothing here other than some fake renderings.

There will absolutely not under any circumstances be MLB baseball in Orlando. I literally guarantee it.

Amway is already new. I'd rather spend money on the entertainment district.

Any update on the entertainment district?

They can fund any renovations their own damn selves. We already paid for the arena itself, something even the considerably less wealthy soccer team didn't ask of taxpayers when they needed a venue. The Magic also bulldozed multiple buildings & the parking structure next door (and all the businesses within) so they could build their pipe dream entertainment complex... that is apparently never happening. The lot's just sitting there collecting dust years later. If the Magic can't even make any progress on their other broken promises to the city, or deliver a quality product on-court, why on Earth would anyone give them more money? What are they even going to do, reshape the arena to look like a pyramid so it better represents its namesake?

Speaking of Dreamers (apt name), Pat Williams is smoking an even bigger pipe than the Magic, but at least he has a track record of actual productivity and not just asking for handouts while delivering a crap product. Maybe the DeVos family can sell one of their many yachts if they're so short on funds.

Knightro wrote:

Max Power wrote:I find this very interesting considering how new Amway Center is. I think RDV Corp is probably trying to undercut the baseball stadium ambitions Pat Williams is spearheading. If I’m the Orange County Tourist Tax Commission I’m letting the Magics request fall on deaf ears right now. Amway doesn’t need any upgrades outside of maybe parking. I think luring MLB would be a major coup for the area.

I can assure you that there will be no Major League Baseball team in Orlando.

The fact that the local media is covering this "story" like it's real is truly sad and pathetic. People are so scared to criticize Pat Williams, but he has literally nothing here other than some fake renderings.

There will absolutely not under any circumstances be MLB baseball in Orlando. I literally guarantee it.

Are you on the board that appropriates funds?

As someone who used to want the city to do their part: they can go F themselves at this point. All of these sport franchises and businesses can go F themselves. Making BILLLIONS but asking for tax payers to fund their business.... Get the F out of here. You've been given your welfare already and your business is booming. In the NBA, a player can sign 5 year contracts for more than what the Magic are asking for here. This is abusive at this point and they'll claim this is capitalism

Knightro wrote:

Max Power wrote:I find this very interesting considering how new Amway Center is. I think RDV Corp is probably trying to undercut the baseball stadium ambitions Pat Williams is spearheading. If I’m the Orange County Tourist Tax Commission I’m letting the Magics request fall on deaf ears right now. Amway doesn’t need any upgrades outside of maybe parking. I think luring MLB would be a major coup for the area.

I can assure you that there will be no Major League Baseball team in Orlando.

The fact that the local media is covering this "story" like it's real is truly sad and pathetic. People are so scared to criticize Pat Williams, but he has literally nothing here other than some fake renderings.

There will absolutely not under any circumstances be MLB baseball in Orlando. I literally guarantee it.

How much is the Devos family worth and the Magic themselves worth? Yea they don't need public welfare anymore.

On Pat Williams, he should just retire these initiatives he has and enjoy his life. The Rays are just using this for leverage on Tampa Bay. Tourist taxes need to be spent on roads, transportation, education, public services for locals, etc.

thelead wrote:As someone who used to want the city to do their part: they can go F themselves at this point. All of these sport franchises and businesses can go F themselves. Making BILLLIONS but asking for tax payers to fund their business.... Get the F out of here. You've been given your welfare already and your business is booming. In the NBA, a player can sign 5 year contracts for more than what the Magic are asking for here. This is abusive at this point and they'll claim this is capitalism

The money for the original Amway construction and this new 250 million is just from a fund specifically of tourist taxes.

Hoopslife wrote:

thelead wrote:As someone who used to want the city to do their part: they can go F themselves at this point. All of these sport franchises and businesses can go F themselves. Making BILLLIONS but asking for tax payers to fund their business.... Get the F out of here. You've been given your welfare already and your business is booming. In the NBA, a player can sign 5 year contracts for more than what the Magic are asking for here. This is abusive at this point and they'll claim this is capitalism

The money for the original Amway construction and this new 250 million is just from a fund specifically of tourist taxes.

I get that and won’t pretend to know how those funds are typically appropriated but there has to be better ways of investing that amount of money to better the community.

Knightro wrote:

Max Power wrote:I find this very interesting considering how new Amway Center is. I think RDV Corp is probably trying to undercut the baseball stadium ambitions Pat Williams is spearheading. If I’m the Orange County Tourist Tax Commission I’m letting the Magics request fall on deaf ears right now. Amway doesn’t need any upgrades outside of maybe parking. I think luring MLB would be a major coup for the area.

I can assure you that there will be no Major League Baseball team in Orlando.

The fact that the local media is covering this "story" like it's real is truly sad and pathetic. People are so scared to criticize Pat Williams, but he has literally nothing here other than some fake renderings.

There will absolutely not under any circumstances be MLB baseball in Orlando. I literally guarantee it.

Tampa has one of the worst attendances in MLB. I don’t see any room for growth over there. I’m not saying it’s going to happen, but if Tampa does not renew their contract, it’s a good possibility. However, many stars have to fall in place.


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The NBA (not the magic imo) is a tourist destination and draws a significant amount of international guests to games. I wonder if they got worried about other sports venues locking up funding for years to come they might miss out. Continual improvements to the facility make sense to me to keep it nice, 250 million is a massive project. What’s needed that costs that much?

Usually buildings go through renovations every 10years especially if they want to remain state of the art or be able to keep up with technology. Perhaps a big overhaul is in place

Once they show that they actually care about winning and not just making money, then we can talk.

JoshuaPotter wrote:Are you on the board that appropriates funds?

No. I just have a brain

Pat Williams is asking the county for $975M from the tourist tax which only covers about HALF of the stadium project.

Where's the other half of that money coming from? It certainly isn't coming from the Tampa Bay Rays owner.

And if the alternative is "screw relocating the Rays, we'll just get our own team when Tampa moves to Nashville or Montreal or Portland!" - there's that pesky little issue of the $2 billion dollar MLB expansion fee that no one has either.

Trust me, there will not be Major League Baseball in this city under any circumstances. For all intents and purposes, it's a fake proposal.

thelead wrote:As someone who used to want the city to do their part: they can go F themselves at this point. All of these sport franchises and businesses can go F themselves. Making BILLLIONS but asking for tax payers to fund their business.... Get the F out of here. You've been given your welfare already and your business is booming. In the NBA, a player can sign 5 year contracts for more than what the Magic are asking for here. This is abusive at this point and they'll claim this is capitalism

Just for clarification, the Magic and UCF and Pat Williams and Performing Arts Center and the Convention Center are asking only for tourist tax dollars.

And by law, tourist tax dollars can only be used for projects that will increase tourism. They can't be used for roads or education or infastructure or anything else. Now if someone wants to argue that's a bad law, then sure, no arguement from me on that.

But that is the law right now. None of these projects would cost Orange County residents any taxpayer money - unless you often spend time at Orlando area hotels of course.

Orange County generated a record $39M in tourist tax in March btw. A new single month record they expect to break again in April. Tourism is BOOMING in Orlando right now.

Knightro, I definitely agree with you that the whole Dreamers initiative is pretty weak. Bad potential team name and a weird looking stadium plan. We didn’t hear anything about this for 3 years then we have a tourist boom then we get a stadium rendering out of nowhere. It feels forced, but I don’t blame Pat Williams for trying to strike gold twice. MLB would be a major coup here, and I’d love to see it.

I do think you’re right though in the sense that expansion won’t come here. I can’t completely discount the Rays relocation possibility but I think a lot has to happen to make it work including a team ownership change, legit stadium plans, and other considerations. The tourist tax money is just one of many factors.

Knightro wrote:

JoshuaPotter wrote:Are you on the board that appropriates funds?

No. I just have a brain

Pat Williams is asking the county for $975M from the tourist tax which only covers about HALF of the stadium project.

Where's the other half of that money coming from? It certainly isn't coming from the Tampa Bay Rays owner.

And if the alternative is "screw relocating the Rays, we'll just get our own team when Tampa moves to Nashville or Montreal or Portland!" - there's that pesky little issue of the $2 billion dollar MLB expansion fee that no one has either.

Trust me, there will not be Major League Baseball in this city under any circumstances. For all intents and purposes, it's a fake proposal.

To be fair, and I mean this bluntly.

Amway sponsors Orlando Arena. Yuck.

We can't even get a sponsor for the Arena we have.

Otherwise, um, I don't have a dog in the fight other then being like "oh yeah another reason to have more traffic in Orlando...."

I hope they get it. It's better than giving it to the Convention Center. I've never been to the convention center, but I've been to the Amway. I don't work in the hospitality industry, but I have to deal with the tourist traffic on I-4.

They can only use the Tourist tax on certain things like convention centers and arenas.

Maybe we can secure an Allstar game or Final four. That would generate more than the $250m for the downtown Orlando economy.

The Devos family doesn't receive 100% of the money that the Amway generates.


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