<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It will be at least two more weeks -- and maybe longer -- before the city's deal with the Orlando Magic is taken to the City Council for a vote. Mayor Buddy Dyer, who already postponed a vote once before, said he needs more time to work out concerns raised by Orange County leaders. Both city and county officials, however, said some issues have been resolved during "extremely positive" negotiation sessions this week among representatives of the two governments and the NBA team. At issue is an agreement that spells out how the city and the Magic would share the costs and profits of building and operating a $480 million arena. Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty, who controls the hotel taxes needed to pay the lion's share of the cost, pressured Dyer to delay the original vote last week. County officials raised a number of red flags about the deal, including how much latitude Magic executives would be given to trim amenities from the building to avoid going over budget. Negotiators met several times this week and made enough progress to persuade Dyer to again hold off on a vote that had been rescheduled for Monday. "Discussions have progressed in an extremely positive manner this week," said Brie Turek, Dyer's press secretary. "Based on the progress that's been made, they're going to continue those discussions early next week." Some concessions City officials agree with some of the points raised by county officials and plan to tweak the agreement's legal language to address their concerns, according to an official familiar with the negotiations. Among the likely changes: The Magic would control the design of the arena, but the building must include amenities city officials want, including an ice-hockey floor and other features needed to host concerts and other non-basketball events. The Magic would agree to cover any cost overruns that raise the price of the building itself over $380 million, and the agreement will make clear that the team would need the city's approval to cut any features from the blueprints in order to avoid going over budget. The agreement's wording will make it clear that the Magic's payment of $1.75 million a year from naming rights, luxury suites and advertising, which will increase by 3 percent a year, all will go toward the cost of operating the building. The agreement will require contractors to follow rules specifying that a portion of the work go to minority- and women-owned businesses. "The concerns seem to be less now that we're able to sit down and talk face to face," Magic Chief Operating Officer Alex Martins said. Still, the biggest sticking point between city and county officials remains unresolved. They have not agreed how to handle the Magic's pledge to help secure $100 million in financing. County officials contend that using the method favored by the Magic and the city will over time cost taxpayers tens of millions more in interest payments. "It can be resolved," Martins said, while offering no clue about a solution. Nothing is certain Negotiations between city and county officials had been stilted and marked by problems. The newly upbeat assessment of the talks is a positive turn of events for Dyer, who has tried to muscle forward his $1 billion plans for a new arena, performing-arts center and upgraded Citrus Bowl. But a deal that guarantees public financing for all three venues is far from certain. The county agreed to raise the hotel tax by a penny, with half going toward the venues and half going toward tourism marketing. Crotty supports the concept of devoting a portion of the existing 5-cent tax to the venues, as well. But city and county officials have been unable to agree on an overall financing plan. Rosen's objections Outspoken hotelier Harris Rosen continues to try to persuade county commissioners not to spend hotel taxes on the three projects, saying all the money is needed to shore up the area's struggling tourism economy. In a four-page Jan. 12 letter to Crotty and county commissioners, Rosen wrote that it's "foolhardy" to devote money to projects that benefit only "the wealthy few" while hotel occupancy is lower than it was a decade ago. "Does it really make any sense to commit more than half a billion dollars in tourist tax revenues from an industry that is in such a decline, especially when these tax funds can be better used to support an increased advertising and marketing campaign intended to restore the industry's health?" wrote Rosen, arguing that additional projects should be undertaken only when hotel occupancy has reached 80 percent. Dyer said his plan for the community venues has the support of other tourism leaders, including Al Weiss of Walt Disney World and Bob Gault of Universal Orlando. He pointed out that a similar plan from Rosen failed to win any support from the Tourist Development Council last summer. "I appreciate everything Mr. Rosen has done for our community, but on this issue, everyone, including all the other major tourism leaders, are moving in the same direction," Dyer said in a statement. "It is my hope that he would begin working with us to use a portion of the tourist tax to benefit our citizens and community, rather than against us." </div> Link
