Officials with the Clearwater Marine Aquarium made a big splash recently with their plans for a proposed $160 million new home, which would include a 2,000-seat dolphin stadium, a two-story coral reef tank and a "4D theater." Officials ambitiously say they believe the facility would attract over two million visitors in its first year.
But how do you pay for all of it? Aquarium officials have indicated that they intend to try to tap into Pinellas County's bed tax, a five percent tax on hotel visits that currently is paying off construction bonds for Tropicana Field, but will be freed up by 2015.
Then again, those funds could be critical if a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays is ultimately agreed upon in the county. And there are other people in line for the bed tax as well.
Today at a Tiger Bay event in St. Petersburg, County Commissioner Janet Long said she doesn't believe the issue is about how much money the Commission spends, but "what our value system is, and where do we want to put the precious resources that we have in terms of revenue that we have to deal with to fix the problems that we have in Pinellas County?"
This article appears in Mar 14-20, 2013.