ORLANDO, Fla. – A planned $560 million expansion of the Orange County Convention Center, scheduled to begin this month, faces a legal challenge from a developer who claims the county failed to meet a decades-old requirement intended to prevent precisely the kind of traffic congestion residents now decry.
Universal City Property Management alleges Orange County violated a 1998 land‑use agreement that accompanied the sale of property to the county. The complaint alleges the county negotiated land‑use restrictions at the time of sale that included a requirement to construct an interchange linking Kirkman Road to State Road 528 before the convention center could be expanded beyond Phase V.
According to the developer’s complaint, that infrastructure was a condition meant to mitigate traffic impacts from any future enlargement of the facility. It was never built.
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Tucker Byrd, the Winter Park attorney representing Universal City Property Management, said on his website, “Orange County takes the position it is impossible to build. You may not want to, but you have to.”
The dispute has renewed attention to longstanding local debates over the convention center’s value and the burden its events place on area roadways.
The center attracts visitors from around the world and, county officials say, generates nearly $3 billion annually in economic impact for Central Florida by driving hotel stays, dining, entertainment and related business to the region.
In 2023, the county approved a $560 million expansion, Phase 5A, that would add an additional 44,000 square feet of meeting space, and a 100,000-square-foot ballroom to the convention center’s North-South Concourse building, with work expected to be completed in 2029.
The county also recently approved the design for another expansion, Phase 5B, that would eventually add an additional 200,000 square feet of exhibit hall space.
The funding for these projects comes from tourist development tax revenue, which by law has to be spent on tourism promotion and tourism-related community venues.
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Supporters argue the expansion will create jobs and increase revenue for local businesses.
“From my point of view, I welcome the traffic, I welcome the work, I welcome people,” said Brian Kagle, a stagehand project manager who works at the convention center.
Kagle said additional shows and conventions mean more employment for members of his union, which he described as seasonal and often idle during several summer months.
But many residents and workers in the area say the traffic is already intolerable. Commuters on International Drive report lengthy, slow‑moving congestion during event peaks.
“You get on International Drive, it’s like bumper‑to‑bumper traffic,” said Larry Nutter, who commutes from Winter Springs for work in the convention center area. “The traffic is really bad when they get out, incredibly bad — it’s almost the same as when you come out of a concert.”
County officials declined to discuss the litigation. When asked for comment, a county representative said the office could not speak on pending legal matters.
The legal challenge raises questions about the project’s timeline.
The matter will now move through the courts.