I bet you didn’t realize that Disney just announced that it was planning to invest $17 billion and create 13,000 new jobs in Florida.
That’s because you read the misleading headlines, which focus on Disney cancelling a $1 billion project:
But if you read the details, the reality is that Disney cancelled one small part of its Florida plans for less than $1 billion, and kept almost all its other plans. And even that $1 billion was not such a sweet deal for Florida, since it was subsidized by over $500 million in tax incentives, and there were doubts that the job growth, which was by transferring employees from southern California, even could happen.
The New York Times told that complete story, but it’s headline was as misleading as the rest, Disney Pulls Plug on $1 Billion Development in Florida (emphasis added):
The project, known as Lake Nona Town Center, was supposed to cost $864 million, but recent price estimates have been closer to $1.3 billion. Disney had planned to relocate as many as 2,000 employees from Southern California, including most of a department known as Imagineering, which works with Disney’s movie studios to develop theme park attractions.Most of the affected employees complained bitterly about having to move — some quit — but Disney held firm, partly because of a Florida tax credit that would have allowed the company to recoup as much as $570 million over 20 years for building and occupying the complex.He cited “changing business conditions” as a reason for canceling the Lake Nona project. “I remain optimistic about the direction of our Walt Disney World business,” Mr. D’Amaro said in the memo. He noted that $17 billion was still earmarked for construction at Disney World over the next decade — growth that would create an estimated 13,000 jobs. “I hope we’re able to,” he said.The memo, which was viewed by The New York Times, did not mention Mr. DeSantis. But the company’s battle with the governor and his allies in the Florida Legislature figured prominently into Disney’s decision to cancel the Lake Nona project, according to two people briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations….A spokesman for Mr. DeSantis said in an email: “Disney announced the possibility of a Lake Nona campus nearly two years ago. Nothing ever came of the project, and the state was unsure whether it would come to fruition. Given the company’s financial straits, falling market cap and declining stock price, it is unsurprising that they would restructure their business operations and cancel unsuccessful ventures.” ….The Lake Nona project had initially been scheduled to open next year. Last July, Disney pushed back the move-in date to 2026, citing pandemic-related construction delays.
It also appeared that the project was just part of a list of prior Disney projects pulled back by returning CEO Bob Iger (emphasis added):
“Mr. Iger, who came out of retirement to retake Disney’s reins, was much less enthusiastic about the project — even before the company became mired in its battle with Mr. DeSantis. As soon as he returned to Disney, Mr. Iger began telling lieutenants, for instance, that it made little sense to move Imagineering so far away from Disney’s movie studios. As he is fond of saying, “Creative teams need to be together.”Mr. Iger has been systematically reversing Mr. Chapek’s decisions.”
So this was a project that appeared dead in the water unrelated to DeSantis, would not create new jobs for Floridians (instead importing 2,000 Californians), and would cost Florida almost $600 million in tax incentives to Disney. Sounds like Disney scrapping the deal was both unrelated to DeSantis and best for all involved.
But maybe the money is besides the point. IF Disney was trying to blackmail Florida by witholding growth in Florida if Florida didn’t restore Disney’s state-within-a-state, then perhaps it’s a fight worth having:
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