Our view 4/5/08

It is time to clear the air and dust-off home plate.

We spoke out against the County giving ad valorem money to a private business and that stance hasn’t changed.

Still, we realize this is somewhat common in economic and/or tourist development.

And two facts cause us to think the suggested plan to fund the proposed World Series may not be so bad.

First, we are not talking about tax dollars paid by Santa Rosa residents. Instead, the plan calls for the use of “bed taxes.” These are additional taxes added to hotel/motel and condo bills—paid by tourists when they rent a room for six months or less.

Secondly, this is, after all, a large event that would bring thousands of people to the area from all over the country. While they are likely to spend the night in Pensacola hotels (we don’t have that many rooms available in Santa Rosa), they will be buying gas here, stopping at shops, eating at restaurants, etc. (Last year, for example, we are told the McDonalds ran out of buns because of the large number of sales.)

In short, this endeavor (spearheaded by All-Star Productions) could be a tourism coup for not just the Pace area, but all of Santa Rosa County.

The proper plan here is for the Santa Rosa Tourism Development Council to utilize the dollars collected from visitors: bed tax fees.

This tax is four percent of visitors’ bill for each night they stay at a campground, condo, hotel, motel.

By doing this, those parents who will be traveling with the team will not only leave money at the local fast food restaurant, convenience store, or other local business, but also pay bed taxes by staying at our hotels/motels and campgrounds.

We always agreed the World Series was a great opportunity for the county. We raised our eyebrows when we first heard ad valorem dollars might be used. That was incorrect. And we’re glad to hear it is bed tax dollars on the table.

Santa Rosa County still has a friendly down-home feel and our residents seldom meet a stranger. This could leave a realy nice taste in the mouths of those who visit for this series and many may just want to come back for a vacation and a chance to “get a little sand in their shoes.”

Very few would argue about what the county has to offer when you look at items like the arena in East Milton, recreational facilities like you would find at the SportsPlex, the soccer complex on Chumuckla Highway, the Chumuckla arena, and parks in Navarre, Tiger Point, Gulf Breeze, Gospel Projects, and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Since we already have these facilities, it does seem nice if we can use them to draw more tourism.

As we draw more tourists, the demand for places to spend the night will increase. As that happens, it is likely more and more investors will opt to build hotels and motels.

The idea here is to look to the future and develop an overall strategy for growth.

With all that said...

...Let’s play ball!