Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 21, 1994 TAG: 9402240012
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ROBERT T. SKUNDA
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The Disney's America park proposed for Prince William County is projected to generate nearly 18,000 jobs and provide the state with $41 million in additional tax revenues during its initial season in 1998. By the end of its first decade, the job total should rise by nearly 1,500 and tax revenues to the state will have reached $80 million (or $47 million if you assume zero inflation).
These new revenues will be more than enough to pay for infrastructure improvements proposed by Gov. George Allen to make the park a reality. Not only will the net cost to taxpayers from a partnership with Disney's America be zero, but the project will provide the state with millions of additional revenues each year for other pressing needs.
Indeed, a state-sponsored analysis by Roy L. Pearson of the Bureau of Business Research at the College of William and Mary says the state will earn a 40 percent annual return on its investment in Disney's America. That's not just a good deal - that's a bonanza.
Disney's America will also bring benefits that are harder to quantify. Adding the Disney name to such existing Virginia attractions as Monticello, Yorktown, Jamestown, numerous Civil War battlefields, Williamsburg, Busch Gardens and Kings Dominion can help make our commonwealth a magnet for tourists from around the world.
By bringing several million more travelers to Virginia every year, we believe Disney's America will increase business for the tourism and hospitality industry throughout the state. By adding a quality, family-oriented park to our roster of historic and entertainment sites, the arrival of Disney's America will burnish Virginia's reputation as a place to visit.
The potential for joint Disney-Virginia promotion is almost unlimited. Disney is one of the world's heavyweight travel attractions, and we are excited by plans to combine our promotional efforts.
Disney's America has agreed to donate land near the park's main gate for a state-operated visitors center with state-of-the-art information systems and exhibits to promote all of Virginia's attractions. Staff will be on hand at the Disney park to provide planning assistance, reservation and ticketing services for other Virginia attractions.
This on-site presence will give 5 million to 6 million Disney visitors the chance to learn about Virginia - four times more people than now visit our existing 10 welcome centers. Nearly three-quarters of those who visit Virginia come back on future vacations. We believe the visitors center can reinforce this pattern by introducing visitors to other parts of the state.
We plan a jointly funded advertising campaign for Virginia and Disney's America. Partnered with Disney's America, Virginia will tell the world that not only Disney's America, but Virginia itself, is open for business and is a great place to visit. Virginia should benefit from Disney's own advertising as it uses its unmatched promotional talents to bring millions of new visitors to Virginia and make Disney's America a success from day one.
Working with Disney and other attractions, Virginia will be able to reach beyond our traditional markets by using the governor's tourism marketing fund to develop a major marketing co-op program. The additional tax revenues generated by the Disney project will enable us to expand this relatively modest program to develop packages for both large and small destinations.
We intend to take advantage of the opportunities and revenues provided by Disney's America to launch a joint program through Northern Virginia Community College in Manassas to train employees for the tourism and hospitality industry. The program, geared initially toward Disney, will be adapted and offered statewide to serve others in this industry.
By every estimate, Disney's America will create thousands of jobs and provide the state with millions of dollars of revenues that can be used to meet other needs year after year.
Gov. Allen has recommended a fair state investment of approximately $81 million in order for Virginia to secure the Disney project. Studies show that the return to the state will be several times that amount over the 20 years that the bonds for transportation improvements will be issued. According to Pearson's projections, direct tax revenues from the park alone will be more than enough to pay debt service on the bonds by its third year in operation.
Recruitment of new business and industry has become a highly competitive enterprise in which states are often pitted against one another. Virginia has finished second in two such recent competitions. We lost the LEGO theme park to California, and United Airlines went to Indianapolis despite a $230 million incentive package offered by Virginia.
In the case of Disney, we have been spared a bidding war. We should grab Disney's partnership offer, not because we are flattered, but because it's a terrific business proposition for our state. To Virginia, Disney means jobs, revenues and economic stimulus. It's a lot more than Mickey Mouse.
\ Robert T. Skunda is Virginia secretary of commerce and trade.
by CNB