CINCINNATI — Hamilton County commissioners voted Thursday to raise the county's hotel tax by 1%, but they were not in full agreement on whether the move is the most beneficial to taxpayers.
The change will officially go into effect on Dec. 1.
The increase, which will bump the tax up from 6.5% to 7.5%, is intended to support renovations to the Duke Energy Convention Center, but that plan doesn't include any funding for a convention center hotel — a detail that pushed Commission President Alicia Reece to vote in opposition of the tax increase.
"This resolution is incomplete ... it's incomplete and it's not a win for taxpayers," said Reece.
Commissioners Denise Driehaus and Stephanie Summerow Dumas disagreed and voted in favor of increasing the hotel tax to help pay for upgrades to the Duke Energy Convention Center.
Driehaus argued that hoteliers wouldn't even come to the table to discuss building a new convention center hotel at the site where the former Millennium Hotel stood until the Duke Energy Center is improved.
Reece disagreed and argued the convention center will not be able to attract high-revenue events without a hotel nearby.
"No, no one's coming if you don't have a convention hotel," said Reece. "They've said it."
Reece pointed out the state-mandated property reassessments have meant most taxpayers in the region will see their property taxes go up, while business-owners who will benefit most from the convention center plan are already enjoying tax abatements.
She also pushed back against the hotel-building plan, which currently demands the county foot the bill for a parking garage for the hotel before the new space can be built.
In a presentation made to commissioners in May, developers Portman Holdings indicated the company's plans were to rely on the Whex Parking Garage, a nearby existing garage housing 780 spaces.
Portman Holdings have unveiled conceptual renderings of what an anticipated convention center hotel replacing the Millennium could look like, with Cincinnati-based Skansa on the project as lead contractor.
However, no hotel operator or brand has officially signed on for the project.
Reece previously floated the idea of instead spending a portion of the 1% tax increase to instead pay for a new stadium for the Cincinnati Bengals.
"I want to be clear before I vote, I want to know all the options for the 1%," said Reece at the end of September. "We're waiting on a legal opinion about the hotel. We could take half of it to go to the hotel and half toward the stadium... I want all options before I vote on the 1%."
She said the idea to use a portion of that tax increase for a stadium came from Nashville, where they've used a similar tax increase to build the Tennessee Titans' new stadium.
Last month, Reece also asked Jeff Alutto, county administrator, whether the 1% tax increase could be focused on a new, 800-room headquarters hotel that could replace the Millennium Hotel, which was torn down in 2021.
Upgrades have been planned for Paycor Stadium for over a year; a fully fledged master plan for what those upgrades could look like was forecast to be released this year.
The county and the Bengals hired Los Angeles-based architecture and design firm Gensler Sports to evaluate the stadium. The firm released a capital assessment report in April 2022, recommending $493.7 million in basic repairs to the aging structure such as fixing steel rails and ramps, replacing seats and upgrading electric and plumbing systems.
That number does not include the potential $200 to $300 million more for future upgrades like luxury lounges, high-end food or drink and new signs and scoreboards.
WCPO obtained an early version of the master plan in August 2022. It included standing-room-only decks and drink rails, a live sports betting club, a nightclub, a skybridge to connect upper concourses, field goal and end zone cameras and changes to seating including banquettes.
However, plans to instead scrap Paycor Stadium as the home of the Bengals in lieu of a new stadium have also surfaced and county commissioners said earlier this year that those ideas aren't completely out of the question. Commissioners asked in April for the master plan to include options for a new stadium as well as for renovations to the current stadium so they can see costs for both options.
There has also been debate over whether Paycor Stadium can be renovated to include a domed top, which would allow Hamilton County to have more concerts and events, thus bringing in more revenue.
On the other side of that argument, organizations in Cincinnati have also been looking for ways to build an entirely new arena that could become an alternative to Heritage Bank Center, rather than a new Paycor Stadium.
Watch Live:
