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BONITA SPRINGS — The Lee Tourism Development Council agreed on Tuesday that up to 20 percent of the county’s bed tax revenue should be spent on keeping spring baseball in the county.

The decision should provide enough money for the construction of a new spring training complex for the Boston Red Sox, said John Yarbrough, Lee County’s former parks and recreation director who is serving as a consultant for the county.

“How much is it going to take, we really don’t know,” Yarbrough told the council. “But there is no doubt in our mind the action you would take would more than cover it.”

A site for a new stadium has not been selected and negotiations with the Red Sox are ongoing.

But the county is currently negotiating a possible 30-year deal with the team, said Yarbrough. That deal would not include an out clause and could include two 10-year options at the end of the deal.

About 20 landowners have made unsolicited proposals, and at least some of those have offered to donate the estimated 80-plus acres needed for the project.

Estimates for the team’s economic impact to Lee County range from $25 to $45 million each year, he said.

The Tourism Development Council is an appointed board that advises county commissioners on spending revenue generated by the county’s bed tax, a 5-cent tax on lodgings of six months or less.

Last year, budgeted revenue from the tax topped $22 million.

Currently, 13.4 percent of bed tax revenue is dedicated to a stadium debt service fund, which includes bond payment on the Minnesota Twins’ spring training facility in south Fort Myers and maintaining City of Palms Park, the Red Sox spring home near downtown Fort Myers.

Marketing the Harborside Convention Center, the Edison-Ford Winter Estates and other attractions also comes from that portion of the bed tax.

Thirty-three percent of bed tax revenues are spent on the county’s beach and shoreline program and the rest, 53.6 percent, goes to advertising the region as a tourist destination.

Several representatives from the county’s beach communities questioned dedicating a larger portion of bed tax revenue to baseball.

“Twenty percent of our overall budget is going to this endeavor and if we’re taking it out of the beach and shore fund we’re cutting into our core business,” said Ric Base, director of the Sanibel and Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce.

Town of Fort Myers Beach Mayor Larry Kiker said the money might be better spent on redevelopment and infrastructure in his city.

“Our probably most strategic property as you drive over the bridge is empty lots right now,” Kiker said. “It used to be filled with hotels, restaurants, shops—that represents revenue that’s no longer coming in.”

Rob Wells, a member of the TDC and owner of Tarpon Lodge in Pineland, said he sympathizes with beach communities but baseball helps the county diversify its appeal.

“As a board we have to focus on what’s driving tourists to this market,” Wells said. “If we want to recruit people to the community, we have to have a well-rounded community.”

The council did not decide which portion of the TDC budget will be cut for the added baseball revenue but will hammer out those details at a later meeting, said Lee Visitor & Convention Bureau Executive Director Suya Davenport.

The council’s recommendation will be given to county commissioners Oct. 28.

After the meeting, Sandy Moxley, sales manager at the Best Western Hotel in North Fort Myers, said she initially hoped the Red Sox would stay at City of Palms Park but keeping the team in the county is important.

“If Lee County can supply the Red Sox with a bigger location, they are going to stay with us so it’s a great opportunity,” she said. “My only concern is that they make sure it’s a year-round facility.”

Base said he favored keeping the Red Sox happy but would be interested in seeing which portion of the bed tax revenue the money will come from.

“We have to keep the Red Sox here, but where I have a problem is the economics,” he said. “We’re talking about $4.5 or $5 million a year, and it’s coming from somewhere. I’d like to see where.”