As Americans turn their attention to the Super Bowl this weekend, we are reminded of the importance of safeguarding our position as the world's leader in tourism. And, along these lines, last month our family of communities received two deafening wake-up calls that should call us to action.

The first came on New Year's Day, when a national television audience saw that we have allowed an important community asset to languish for far too long. As a matter of record, among our community's public facilities, the Florida Citrus Bowl is second only to the Orange County Convention Center in terms of its ability to attract visitors to our community, and pour tens of millions of dollars into our regional economy.

Consider the fact that Orlando's Bowl Week, anchored by the Champs Sports and Capital One bowls, brought more than 120,000 people to Central Florida, who spent an estimated $80 million in our hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, attractions and small businesses.

The second wake-up call came two weeks later, when we learned that Central Florida did not make the list of cities in the United States that will be invited to host World Cup Soccer. By the way, the last time our country hosted this powerful and prestigious event was in 1994; games were played in the Florida Citrus Bowl, and Central Florida was voted the best host community by the fans attending World Cup.

Here is what we know to be true: Families want to live in a community where they can attend major sporting events and concerts, and we want to live in a community where our young people can showcase their talents, too. Many do not know that the Florida Citrus Bowl hosts a variety of youth-related activities — from high-school football games, to marching band competitions and local scouting events.

Not long ago, local leaders accurately foresaw the need to renovate the stadium, and the consequences of inaction.

That is why the Central Florida Partnership, and others, championed the community venues plan including the new Amway Center, the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and the Florida Citrus Bowl. All three of these venues are critical to our quality of life. Pundits who pit one against the other miss the point; the plan uses taxes paid by tourists to build facilities, which we will all enjoy — while also investing in projects that welcome tourists to our community, who will, in turn, pay the taxes needed to fund the projects.

The current economic downturn has created a major shortfall in the tourist tax dollars that are the primary source of funds for the community venues. This reality will require tough decisions and likely delays. But we cannot allow the Florida Citrus Bowl or the Dr. Phillips Center to languish without a plan to move these projects forward. To do so would be to ignore recent wake-up calls and to endanger an important economic engine, which is part of our legacy and essential to our continued success.

Jacob V. Stuart is president of the Central Florida Partnership in Orlando.