March 1 is the deadline for developers to submit proposals on a planned 486,300-sf convention center along the tourist corridor on west U.S. 192, near Walt Disney World.

Ginn Co., headed by Robert "Bobby" Ginn; Xentury City; and Rob Miller are expected to be among the first to vie for the contract.

A deadline for a planned $65.8 million agricultural center on east U.S. 192 is still being worked out. The 57-year-old Silver Spurs Rodeo attraction, a landmark event in cattle-breeding Osceola County, would perform under an enclosed roof for the first time when the ag center is built. The event has been held outdoors since it was created in 1944.

At the same time, neighboring Seminole County commissioners plan to build a conference center of at least 100,000 sf in Downtown Sanford, FL, the county seat and hub of unprecedented national and regional retail development growth in the past three years. Sanford is 30 miles north of Downtown Orlando.

Seminole County is moving on the conference center venture after hoteliers balked at having the county spend $54 million of hotel tax revenue for a combined 43,000-sf meeting center and 200-room hotel in Downtown Sanford. Seminole commissioners meet Feb. 26 to discuss financing the project and determining its size.

In Osceola County, hospitality industry consultant David O'Neal, former manager at the four million-sf Orange County Convention Center, told elected officials they are on the right track with plans to develop a convention center that will rival the 400,000 sf of total meeting space at the newly opened 1,400-room Gaylord Palms Resort.

County officials had initially talked about a 170,000-sf convention center for $35 million. O'Neal advised a bigger structure would be better but cautioned on building the agricultural center at the same time.

Still, elected Osceola officials are confident they can swing both ventures financially by borrowing on the public markets with 30-year revenue bonds pledged against future collections of the county's resort tax.

That tax has climbed as high as $16.5 million in good economic times. This year's collections are projected to be $15.5 million. Neighboring Orange County collects an average $100 million a year in robust economic periods.

A third project the county plans to fund with hotel tax money is the $18.4 million renovation of Osceola County Stadium behind the agricultural center site.

Area commercial real estate brokers feel Osceola County is gambling by building two projects at the same time but will eventually recoup its investment several times over.

"They're aiming for a different blend of tourists," Dean Fritchen, senior associate, Arvida Realty Services, Commercial Division, Winter Park, tells GlobeSt.com. "They're hoping to attract the entire national rodeo crowd, agriculture industry groups and business travel gatherings that larger centers, such as the Orange County Convention Center, may often pass up."

Instant Insights /

GlobeSt.com UPDATE: Osceola, Seminole Going Ahead With Meeting Centers

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