TDC meets today; Rivera like sports proposal

The Escambia County Tourist Development Council meets today at 3 p.m. to discuss the proposal to bond bed tax revenue (the fifth cent) to build an indoor sports facility at Ashton Brosnaham Park and significantly upgrade the Pensacola Bay Center.

This morning, on “Real News with Rick Outzen,” TDC board member Ronnie Rivera discussed the proposal. He supported the project, highlighting the need for such a facility in the community. However, he also raised concerns about whether the local infrastructure could support the project.

“For me, part of the concern was were the neighbors on board out there and will the infrastructure hold this type of project,” Rivera said. “And I will tell you, I had an opportunity to ride out there this weekend. I’m not big on just talking; I’m more about, ‘Hey, let’s look at it.'”

He continued, “And so I did. I rode out there…Many of you guys (listeners) may or may not know me. I’m from the west side of Pensacola, so the north part of the county I’m not so familiar with. But I did ride out there, and I took a look around. It looks feasible. It truly does look feasible once you read the study, and then you get out there on the ground and take a peek at it. So it looks like it’s going to be a great opportunity for our community.”

Rivera also liked upgrading the Pensacola Bay Center.

“That’s been something that I’ve been a proponent of from the beginning. In fact, I got on the TDC for just that reason. I wanted to see something done with the Bay Center, whether it was a teardown or a renovation or something that would increase tourism here through concerts and those types of things,” he shared

“Some of you that are not as old as me, you can remember many years ago the concerts were not as good as they could be… I’ve liked this project. I’d love to see it move forward because I’d like to see better concerts. I’m like everybody else in Escambia County I think. And if this is what we have to choose from, I think it’s a great option.”