Next week a committee consisting of the city and county commissioners will vote to decide whether or not to use $27 million of penny sales tax funds designated for economic vitality projects in Leon County to bond and pay interest on renovations at Doak Campbell stadium such as ADA compliance upgrades, trip mitigation (drunk, depressed FSU fans seem to be destined to stumble anyways), removal of wooden structures (erector set is actually a Lincoln Log structure apparently), and other normal renovation work involving electrical, plumbing, etc. The Seminole Boosters are dedicating $100 million to stadium improvements, but that is going towards exclusive seating and related amenities. Anyway, this $27 million amount pretty much depletes the set aside funds for economic vitality for the next 20 years and the so-called economic impact of this project is being righteously questioned. The vote currently is projected at 7-5 in favor and local media is exposing campaign funds from highly connected FSU folks to some of the proponents of the project. Leon county has been a great place to live, but this is a pathetic use of limited funds that could be used in some of other form to attract visitors here. This appears to have the chance of becoming a single-issue voting situation in the elections this Fall. In conclusion, this just shows how quickly FSU as a member of ACC is falling behind UF in the new NIL arms-race that is CFB. $27 million is a huge sum, but just think that might equate to the annual gap in TV revenue both schools received.
