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Well, according to this from WFTV, it takes an a**hole to know an a**hole: ORLANDO, Fla. -- Harris Rosen and Doug Guetzloe have made names for themselves in very different ways. Thursday they were together working as one. Guetzloe is the controversial political consultant and Rosen is the millionaire hotelier. They have teamed up for a common goal; shooting down the new community venues until the public can vote. But even though they have a common interest, Rosen said unlike others in the past, he is not paying Guetzloe. "I don't want to pre-judge Doug. If he's going to help me, God bless him. I don't want to have a relationship with Doug or his group," Rosen said. Rosen said he's not paying Guetzloe anything for his help. He needs to collect more than 30,000 signatures by February. The Orlando Magic paid Guetzloe in the past not to fight their push for a venue.

Nice

Interesting.... Any idea where it will be located?

Any idea on how many rooms there will be or the floor count?

God I wish it was $250 million the stadium was granted

I'm not so much concerned about whether or not there will be enough events coming to the Citrus Bowl in the future, I believe that can be pimped out to just about anything My concern is whether or not the $175 million is actually enough, if this money will REALLY bring the stadium up to grand standards If they're going to wait a year or two to see how the tax revenue comes in, it leads me to believe that the cost will only rise and that $175 million will accompish much less than now Also, will they need new funds for future renovations in another 15-20 years from now and how will they get those funds then Will the new business that might come to the Citrus Bowl be substantial enough they that Citrus Sports can actually fund future renovations or will it be another beg-athon for more tax revenue Having said that, I have no issue about fixing the stadium I really do think they will be able to attract more business, maybe not a huge amount more but substantially enough more that people will be able to look on it with a pretty good feeling inside them Here's hoping at least....

An interesting editorial from WESH Chanel 2 online today: It took nearly two years, gallons of ink, and much political maneuvering, but they finally did it. The City of Orlando and Orange County finally put together a package deal for two impressive venues for downtown -- a performing arts center and a new arena for the Orlando Magic -- and one overpriced, wasteful renovation of the Citrus Bowl. The Citrus Bowl supporters, those "Green Jacket" people, almost derailed the whole thing by linking this silly project to the others. Luckily, Orange County Commissioners added a last-minute amendment to the financing package that would delay the Citrus Bowl renovations by a year or more if the tourist tax money isn

So where do you think that leaves us standing on Winter Park and Maitland? Is there any real issue or concern they might not approve it?

I agree it is mostly based on construction costs have skyrocketed in the past 2 years ( thank you very much Dubai and China ) But also bear in mind the fact that almonst every single metropolitan area has built a new arena in the past 15 years, whether they have an anchor sporting tenant or not Everyone has seen these new arenas and the next city tries to top it I believe strongly that the Magic and Orlando in general are looking to build the arena to end all arenas It will be huge and amazing looking High construction costs have contributed but I am sure they are looking to dazzle and pull out all their tricks to do so

If we ever landed an NFL team ( not bloody likely ) the stadium would indeed have to go through a much larger scale renovation If they were to hypothetically do a full renovation right now to NFL standards today, it would need to be around a $350 million project, double what they are going to get It's the only way to fully make the stadium stand out and be spectacular I agree with the other post, we will not get an NFL team unless the Bucs or Jags move here Very unlikely an out of state team like the Saints will move here which will leave Florida with 4 pro teams The NFL will never create an expansion team for us

What are the 3 other projects? It's the Hilton at the Convention Center, the Waldorf Astoria at Disney and what else exactly?

Does everyone think that $175 million will be enough to really transform the Citrus Bowl into a wordclass stadium or is this just a half a renovation?

I think this is a good thing By the time everything is finishing up construction and readying to open, the real estate market will be turned around and a whole new group of investors wil be lining up to invest in downtown It's all coming together nicely, get ready for more to come

Just out of asking, if the tax revenue does come in as planned or better based on the increase and the 3 venues do in fact accomlish their goal, is there a chance that additional renovations to the Citrus Bowl could be planned for the future based on an increase in the tax or based on higher revenues if the tourist trade does extremely well? Or is this pretty much it, another 20-25 years from now a presentation begins to circulate pointing out that no renovations have been done to the stadium since now basically?

Are you referring to the "Creative Village?"

So.....where is the money for the baseball stadium going to come from? I don't think we are going to be able to go to this mat too many more times

It's always going to be something At least we can enjoy something for a while

Well now that this is official, what are we going to complain about in the future now?

A great blog from the Sentinel tonight: "Mission Accomplished - Vision Fulfilled!" - Mayor Richard Crotty Wow. Honestly, I am awestruck. Congratulations to Orange County and all of the Citizens of Orlando and Central Florida. A major step has just been taken to help propel us into the future. I would like to take the time to thank some of the players involved in this process: THANK YOU Buddy Dyer for having the continued vision for the proper growth and management of this city. Your leadership and vision has changed Orlando for the better forever. The idea of packaging the three venues together was a bold, risky move, but it will allow for all to move forward NOW, rather than languish in political muck for years to come. THANK YOU Rich Crotty for moving beyond city/county rival politics and joining forces with Mayor Dyer to get this done (And thanks for basically telling Ken McAvoy to shove it for his gloom and doom presentation, and for moving tonight's meeting along). THANK YOU Commissioners Stewart, Segal, Jacobs, and Fernandez for having the courage to turn your back on Harris Rosen, for the efforts made in overseeing this complicated process, for being the leaders that we elected you to be, for pushing the Magic to step up to the plate, and for voting YES for these venues! THANK YOU Orlando Magic for stepping up when called on by providing gymnasiums for Orange County and pledging to "Go Green" with these venues. It would have been easy to say "Give us what we want or we're leaving", but I think the organization came out looking like they were a team player in this process. THANK YOU Harris Rosen for... well... nothing. Actually, how about a hopeful "Thank you" in advance for allowing the process to move forward now that the vote has passed. Please go back quietly to your hotels and do not become another Doug Guetzloe. THANK YOU to all of the contributors who have raised over $80 million so far for the Performing Arts Center. Your unprecedented generosity will be remembered for generations to come. THANK YOU Orlando Sentinel for providing 50 gazillion reasons why we need these venues. Although I thought that some of the articles were stretching it a bit (I can almost see staffers sitting around the newsroom.... "Hey, can we write an article about how these new venues will end the war in Iraq?"), I appreciate the civic contributions of the newspaper in this process. THANK YOU Scott Maxwell, for being a level-headed voice of reason during this time - for example, asking the Magic to pony up more money, then recognizing their efforts when the gymnasiums were added to the proposal. Your commentary helps to balance this newspaper, and balance is always good (And kudos for the live commission meeting blog). THANK YOU Monsters in the Morning on Real Radio 104.1. This morning they dedicated their entire show to allowing everyone - both proponents and supporters of the venues, to voice their opinions this morning and providing the most open forum I've heard on this process. AND THANK YOU to all the citizens who participated in the process, let their voices be heard, contacted their elected officials, and voiced their support for the construction of these venues. I can't wait to see these get built. Today was a monumental day in the history of this beautiful city. I especially like the thanks for nothing to Harris Rosen and forewarning the birth of a new Doug Guetzloe. Stole my comparison

Did you guys hear, Magic Johnson is ready to invest his $70 million he's been waiving in our face for Parramore now that the vote is yes This is awesome, an outside investor with some celebrity attached This is a great day, it can never be understated Crotty is now THE MAN!!!!!!

Happy Birthday and slam a few down, this is a great day indeed Bring on the lawsuit Rosen, we're ready!!!! This is f**kin awesome!!!! Great job on all the updates throughout the day guys

You sure? Are you absolutely sure?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Can't stand this frickin suspense

Still in recess?

Humble pie I hope