To help finish Paradise Coast Sports Complex and fund other tourism-related uses, Collier County registered voters may be asked next year to increase the tourist-development tax by one penny to 6 cents — joining 12 other counties earning the maximum tax.

Collier currently has a 5-cent bed tax, paid by those who lease rentals of six months or less, including hotels, Airbnbs, mobile homes, recreational vehicle parks and campgrounds. However, the state Department of Revenue confirmed Collier qualifies as a high-impact-tourism county, allowing it to impose an extra 1%.

Commissioners agreed by consensus to take the next steps to put a referendum on the ballot for the next general election on Nov. 3, 2026. If commissioners approve draft language for a ballot referendum this fall and voters approve it, the 6% tax would go into effect Jan. 1, 2027.

“I personally believe there’s only one way we can do this and that’s that sixth penny,” Burt Saunders, chair of the Board of County Commissioners, told commissioners May 27. “The good news about the sixth penny is that it will generate almost $10 million a year. … We have what I believe to be a real gem of a park. It’s just not finished. … And here is a potential way to do it.”

Saunders noted the sports complex was hit by cost overruns, supplychain and COVID-19 problems, contractual issues and mistakes. But over time, he said, tourist development taxes would bring in more money to finish the fieldhouse and fields.

“And over a period of time, there’ll be money available for beach nourishment and advertising and a lot of the things that the tourist industry really has to have,” Saunders said. “The idea that we can rely on federal grants and even state grants for a lot of this might be fantasy going forward.”

Jay Tusa, the county’s tourism director, told commissioners Collier’s average daily rate last year was $485 during peak months and room nights sold during season — January, February, March — totaled 274,000, but the average daily rate dropped to $272 from June through August, when room nights decreased to 195,000.

“If we can start building up that business in the summer months, we can raise that ADR and make more money and have more economic impact,” Tusa added.

The complex, located off Collier Boulevard near Interstate 75 in East Naples, opened in 2020, and the second phase was completed in October 2023. Those phases feature eight synthetic turf fields and a 3,500-seat stadium, and future plans include 21 full-size rectangle and diamond fields. Other draws are the Cove Beer & Wine Bar and The Factory open-air fitness pavilion, which includes an obstacle course, weight room and running trails with workout stations.

Phase four would add 11 multipurpose fields, restrooms and other facilities and phase five would include an indoor-sports fieldhouse for volleyball, basketball, pingpong, pickleball and other sports. The complex also features a 13-acre man-made lake, running trails, fitness pods, resistance equipment and beach volleyball areas.

Since taking over management in 2021, Clearwater-based Sports Facilities Cos. was able to turn a profit as of 2022 and continues to grow profits, including through food and beverage sales and commissions from referrals to hotels.

Adrian Moses, who manages the complex for Sports Facilities, provided commissioners with five letters from baseball and softball tournament operators who said they’d support the county if it finished the complex.

“We are completely confident that we would be able to continue the trajectory of the growth,” Moses said. “… We were recently recognized in a poll as the top soccer and lacrosse facility in the country.”

In a memo to commissioners, Saunders said the 5% TDT collections for fiscal year 2023-24 totaled about $48.6 million, and adding another 1% would bring in roughly $9.7 million more annually. However, he noted TDT revenues are “highly variable and past results are not necessarily indicative of future collections” due to hurricanes and economic factors.

State Department of Revenue records show 12 counties currently collect 6%, including Lee County and counties Collier considers comparable, Palm Beach and Sarasota. Some others collect the minimum TDT, 3%.

The state statute specifies uses for the first three pennies: paying debt service or operating facilities that bring in tourists, including convention centers, sports stadiums and public facilities. Those pennies can be used to promote and advertise tourism and convention bureaus, finance beach park facilities, and for beach maintenance, renourishment, restoration and erosion control, including shoreline protection.

Authorized uses for the fourth penny are professional sports facility debt, operating costs of convention centers financed with tourist taxes and promoting and advertising tourism. Collier is using the fourth penny to repay debt for the sports complex, which is expected to cost $150 million. The fifth penny also can be utilized to promote and advertise tourism.

The sixth penny has the same uses as the first three. To qualify, TDTs must exceed $600 million, or 18% of total taxable sales. Collier’s 2023-24 fiscal year collections translated into roughly $1 billion in sales.

Interim Parks Director James Hanrahan said that from June through August, they close certain fields at the complex to prepare for fall, including repairing worn areas with sprigging, seeding, aeration and soil compaction.

“When you have natural grass, you want to make sure the fields can withstand three to four months of play,” Hanrahan said. “Having artificial turf fields — if the commissioners decide to go that route — would allow play during the summertime and we could have both baseball diamonds and softball diamonds available.”

The complex’s stadium features a turf field, which FC Naples CEO Bob Moreno said is great to play soccer on and gives them a home-field advantage because it’s fast to play, something other teams aren’t accustomed to.

“But it is challenging — almost impossible — to bring high-level soccer teams, like from the Premier League in England, to play and practice here during their wintertime because it is a turf field,” Moreno said, adding he’s asked many to play here. “The fact that there’s no grass fields at the sports complex makes it impossible for us to do that.”

Chris Lopez, of the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association, urged commissioners to add the sixth penny, calling it a tourism driver in the summer months. “These tournaments and these teams still travel all summer long, come from all over the country, all over the world and we think Naples should be their first stop in those summer games,” Lopez said.

Commissioner Rick LoCastro said commissioners shouldn’t assume the referendum will pass because residents know the complex had cost overruns and don’t understand tourism taxes. Even though residents didn’t foot that bill, he said, it will be important to educate voters about TDTs by using the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce and other groups for outreach.

“This would be something that we would want to ensure did get passed easily, exponentially and quickly with a really big number because we have a great plan,” LoCastro said. “… We have to make sure that everything that’s brought to this board shows the correct use of those funds, with tight oversight, and minimal cost overruns and how we’re going to manage all of that. … There are some citizens who think it’s finished.”