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Pasco Commission Backs Sports Complex Pitch

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By Julia Ferrante of The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 25, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - Michael Cox has the blessing of his fellow Pasco County commissioners to make a new pitch for a multipurpose sports complex.

Now he's winding up to lobby the Tourist Development Council.

County commissioners Tuesday morning agreed to revisit the sports complex plan and to look into the possibility of bonding tourist tax dollars to help pay for the project, which Cox estimates at about $15 million.

Five years ago, Cox tried to persuade commissioners to spend tourist tax revenue on a multipurpose sports complex rather than a tennis stadium. His proposal failed to get the full board's backing at the time, and the tennis stadium is now in the works.

But Cox, who was elected in November, has said his support for a multipurpose facility never wavered.

"This concept is certainly there. It is being done in other parts of the country, and, I might add, it is being done well," he said recently. "Pasco could use the facility during the week, and on the weekends there could be tournaments that would promote tourism and family values."

Building a multipurpose complex at a time when counties are stripping their budgets to comply with state-mandated tax reform may seem like a lofty goal, but Cox noted that tourism tax dollars must be used for specific purposes. They may not be spent as property tax money is, for example, to balance the budget, put more sheriff's deputies on the streets or pave roads.

There will be about $2.5 million left in the tourism construction account after the tennis stadium allocation is subtracted, said Michael Nurrenbrock, Pasco's director of management and budget.

Counties have the option of bonding tourism tax dollars to get a higher return on their investment, although the process is difficult, and Pasco officials have not done so in the past.

Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.

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