Bee Cave City Council approved $75,000 in funding to go to the 2027 Special Olympics Texas Winter Games at a July 14 council meeting.
The overview
The Special Olympics Texas Winter Games is a statewide competition for athletes with intellectual disabilities to compete in floorball, golf, volleyball and power lifting.
Events for the winter games will take place at Bee Cave Middle School, Lake Travis Middle School and HCI Sports and Fitness, among other locations in the area, said Chad Eason, executive director of competitions and sports programming for Special Olympics Texas.
“The Special Olympics bring whole community awareness and engagement,” Eason said. “We want to make the games a destination for global and statewide guests.”
The details
Council approved $75,000 from the city's hotel occupancy tax fund to Special Olympics Texas for the Winter Games.
Hotel occupancy taxes are collected by the city of Bee Cave at a rate of 7%, which has on average garnered the city $550,000 in revenue each fiscal year, per 2025 city documents.
Fiscal year-to-date, the fund balance is $2.9 million, said Rebecca Regueira, assistant to the city manager.
The state HOT rate is 6%.
These taxes are part of the fees charged by hotels and are paid by hotel guests as part of the hotel’s rate, Bee Cave Mayor Kara King said.
Cities in Texas are allowed to utilize these revenues in order to promote tourism and hotel industries through various projects, including enhancement of sports facilities, promotion of arts and advertising, according to the Texas Comptroller.
Special Olympics Texas is also requesting a minimum of $350,000 from Lakeway’s HOT.
Something to note
The Winter Games will take place throughout Bee Cave, Lakeway and surrounding areas Feb. 12-14 2027, with approximately 2,500 guests expected.
Of these guests, 500 are expected to use Bee Cave hotels.
