Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez has written an open letter to Walt Disney CEO Robert Iger, encouraging him to relocate Walt Disney World Resort to the Rio Grande Valley, which has produced mixed responses from the UTRGV community.
“Right now, the highways [are] not even finished,” said Phoebe Lopez, an early care and early childhood studies freshman. “I think they have big dreams. Like, it’s a good goal to have, especially for marketing and tourists and stuff like that. But I feel like they should probably focus on finishing projects that they have right now before bringing in new ones.”
In his April 21 letter to Iger, Cortez cites Disney’s ongoing disputes with the state of Florida.
“Government should always help, not hinder business,” the county judge wrote in his letter. “So Disney’s response to the legislative actions and executive rhetoric of Florida have been impressive and appropriate under your stewardship.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been fighting Disney since last year, when the entertainment conglomerate opposed the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, according to a report by NPR.
The state legislation prohibited classroom instruction and discussion about sexual orientation and gender identity in certain elementary school grades, the bill states.
On Feb. 27, DeSantis signed legislation to revoke the conglomerate’s self-governing authority.
“I signed legislation to end Disney’s self-governing status, placed the area in state receivership, and appointed 5 members to a state control board,” DeSantis tweeted Feb. 27. “Disney no longer has its own government, will live under the same laws as everyone else and pay its debts and fair share of taxes.”
Afterward, Disney sued DeSantis.
“Disney regrets that it has come to this,” according to the lawsuit, which was posted online by fox13news.com. “But having exhausted efforts to seek a resolution, the Company is left with no choice but to file this lawsuit to protect its cast members, guests, and local development partners from a relentless campaign to weaponize government power against Disney in retaliation for expressing a political viewpoint unpopular with certain State officials.”
In a phone interview last Tuesday, Cortez told The Rider the letter was an opportunity to accomplish two things.
“One, to let Disney know where we are and what we are about,” he said. “To see, by any chance, we would qualify as a potential site. … It’s like buying a lottery ticket. If you don’t buy a lottery ticket, you’re not going to win the lotto. So if we don’t invite them, they’re not going to think of us.”
He said the letter is an opportunity to gain “free publicity.”
“I was able to tell whoever reads it, ‘Hey, we have … 15,000 high school graduates every year here in Region One,’” Cortez said. “Our median age is 29. We have warm weather, you know, so it gives us an opportunity to tell the whole world about Hidalgo County and where we are.”
Cortez cited the benefits of relocating Walt Disney World Resort to Texas in his letter.
“Not only is our proximity to the Gulf of Mexico better than Orlando, but our business environment is outstanding,” he wrote. “The latest U.S. Census shows our county has grown by 12 percent over the past decade, a pattern of growth that has been the hallmark of this region since the 1994 enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement.”
He concluded the letter, writing that Hidalgo County “would love to have [Iger] visit our community and discuss options that you may have for the future of Disney’s theme park division.”
Walt Disney World Resort covers over 25,000 acres, according to Google, which is 43 square miles. That is almost the same size as the city of Edinburg, which is 44.7 square miles, according to census.gov.
Cortez told The Rider that the relocation will benefit the Hidalgo County community by creating jobs and bringing tourists.
“You know, tourism is a tremendous revenue to have, because tourists don’t cost us any money,” he said. “They come here and they spend money and then they leave. So anytime that you can attract the tourists to your area, it’s a great economic benefit.”
Cortez said he does not know if there would be a downside to Disney relocating to Hidalgo County.
“There’s always pluses and minuses and there could be a downside,” he said “… But at this point in time, I can’t, I can’t think of any.”
Rosa Rangel, a hospitality and tourism management sophomore, said she does not think the Rio Grande Valley is a good place to relocate Disney.
“It’s gonna encourage gentrification to occur in the Valley, and the Valley is like one of the places where the cost of living is [the] lowest in the country,” Rangel said. “Of course, it would benefit people like myself that are … hospitality majors, majoring here in the university. It’d be a great opportunity but for, like, the rest of the people here, it’s … not going to be that beneficial for them. So I think it should be up to the people to decide if they want to invite big business like Disney to the Valley.”
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