reprinted from:

Venue district levies increase in hotel, car-rental taxes

By Ricky George
Copyright 1998 Amarillo Globe News
Reprinted with permission
Article date: March 27, 1998
 

The Amarillo-Potter Events Venue District on Monday levied an increase in hotel and car-rental taxes and got its first helping hand from the community.

The revenues will fund the construction of a special-events center and expansion of the Amarillo Civic Center.

Starting April 1, the venue district will levy a 5-percent tax on gross receipts from car rentals and a 2-percent occupancy tax on hotels. Voters overwhelmingly approved the taxes in a Jan. 17 election.

The venue district is expected to collect about $750,000 monthly from the hotel tax and about $295,000 monthly from the car-rental tax, according to Dean Frigo, city director of finance.

"We're prepared in April to start collecting," said Bobby Lee, president of the
Panhandle Hotel / Motel Association. "It's (the special events center) a much needed facility."

Under the plan approved in January, the taxes will fund $16.75 million of the cost.
Bonds in that amount will be sold and retired over 30 years with revenue from the tax receipts. Existing hotel / motel occupancy taxes and private donations will cover the rest of the construction expense.

Before the meeting started, district member Brenda Michaels handed the first donation check of $500 to Frigo.

The projects to be funded include:

-An arena at the Tri-State Fairgrounds for sporting events such as rodeos, promotional events and other civic events. The building will be about 113,400 square feet with a 150-feet-by-300-feet dirt floor and about 4,900 fixed seats. 

-A 65,000-square-feet addition to the Amarillo Civic Center. Construction will cost an estimated $19.6 million for both projects.

The special-events center will not likely be completed in time for the 1999 Tri-State Fair, according to city manager John Ward. The expected completion time could be 14 to 16 months, Ward said, meaning the center probably would not be ready until spring 2000.

"We're on target," he said. "It's just not going to be as quick as we wanted."
 

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