The gist
On Feb. 14-16, hundreds of athletes from across the state will flock to the Lakeway and Bee Cave area to participate in the multiday sporting event for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.
The hotel occupancy tax, or HOT tax, funding will go toward promoting the event, as well as for the attendees' transportation and hotel rooms, according to a staff report.
By the numbers
Over the past four years, the event has been a big revenue generator for both cities.
Last year, the event saw about 2,500 attendees, with 1,300 participants hailing from outside Lakeway and renting over 1,200 vacation rooms, according to city documents.
According to a presentation given to council by Special Olympics Texas, here is the break down of the revenues brought into the community by year:
- 2022: $240,967
- 2023: $515,987
- 2024: $614,581
Council member Kelly Brynteson clarified that HOT tax revenue primarily comes from taxing visitors from outside the community, so local residents are not footing the $300,000 bill.
"This is not coming from your personal pockets where it could go to paving roads or something like that. This is truly from heads and beds, and that's why we're able to donate such a large sum of money," Brynteson said.
In 2024, the city of Bee Cave also contributed $100,000 in HOT tax revenues to the event.
Other community sponsors from last year included WellPoint, Driscoll Health Systems, Covert Bee Cave, Lakeway Police Foundation, ACES and the Hill Country Galleria.
Quote of note
"I think this is one of the finest initiatives that I've associated with while I've been on dais," Mayor Thomas Kilgore said at the meeting. "It's something that distinguishes our community and the city of Bee Cave, and I am extraordinarily proud of our city stepping up to this."
Zooming out
Special Olympics Texas organizes over 300 regional and state-level competitions annually around the state, with previous competitions held in other cities such as Dallas and San Marcos.
