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Commissioners choose KPMG of St. Petersburg to select what the entertainment complex will be, where it will go and how much it will cost.
By ALISA ULFERTS
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 16, 2000
DADE CITY -- Construction plans are a long way off, but on Tuesday Pasco County got one step closer to becoming home to its own entertainment complex. Commissioners selected St. Petersburg-based KPMG to figure out what that complex should be, plus where it should go and what it will cost.
"This is important. It's a good start," commission Chairwoman Pat Mulieri said.
Once county staffers negotiate a contract with the firm, it will launch an extensive study of what sort of entertainment complex -- such as a sports arena or cultural center -- would appeal to the community. KPMG also will determine what sort of location would best support the facility and whether it would need any public subsidies. Commissioners insist on a self-sustaining complex.
Commissioners did not set a deadline for KPMG to complete the study, which has a budget of $42,500.
They did rank KPMG over two other firms that gave presentations Tuesday, even though that firm estimates the study will cost closer to $50,000. The County Commission and the Economic Development Council each are kicking in $20,000 for the study, and the West Pasco Chamber of Commerce is contributing $2,500. Whether the company will pare down the study or the county will ante up more money is unknown.
Mulieri leans toward the latter.
"It is possible to be penny wise and pound foolish," Mulieri said.
Commissioners appeared to favor KPMG for two reasons: If the company finds there is no demand for an entertainment center in Pasco at the end of the study's first phase, the county is not obligated to continue with the location and financing elements of the study.
Also, KPMG has extensive accounting experience in the area.
"We do know the regional and local marketplace. We are not from out of town," said Ronald Barton, national director of the company's convention, sports and entertainment consulting.
When asked where he thought the complex might go, Barton said it was impossible for him to say.
"We don't even know what it is," Barton said.
A number of ideas have been floated over the years, with groups suggesting everything from a rodeo arena to a spot for the state fair. The latest proposals come on the heels of two unsuccessful ideas: one to bring the Toronto Blue Jays to Pasco for spring training and another to build a Charlie Daniels Western World theme park.
Several landowners have lobbied the county to bring the complex to their site, including Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel and the Concourse nature center north of State Road 52. Jay B. "Trey" Starkey III has offered to sell the county as many as 100 acres of his family land to build an entertainment complex north of State Road 54 and Gunn Highway.
The money to build the complex likely would come from the tourist tax dollars the county has accumulated. Right now there is $4.8-million in the fund, and that amount is expected to reach $5.7-million next year. The county could combine that money with a bond, or double the rate hotel room guests pay from 2-cents per dollar to 4-cents. But four of the five commissioners would have to agree, and the county would be limited in the kinds of facilities it could finance with that extra tax, Budget Director Mike Nurrenbrock said.
In other action, commissioners agreed to allow a cement mixing plant at One Pasco Center near the intersection of I-75 and State Road 52. Neighbors had opposed the plant, but commissioners approved it on the condition that there be no more more than 12 trucks stationed at the site and that the owners agree not to use it for adult entertainment purposes.
Commissioners also agreed, to the request of county Commissioner Steve Simon, to review the county's cellular tower ordinance. Simon wants stricter height and camouflage requirements. County staffers will come back to the board with suggested revisions.
- Information from Times files was used in this report.