Manatee becoming a global mecca for athletes
Last Modified: Saturday, April 24, 2010 at 6:18 p.m.
Forget the beaches, Anna Maria Island and the Manatee River. Soon, Manatee County could be known more as a destination for top athletes and sports fans from around the world than as a stereotypical vacation spot.
• Manatee is already home to IMG Academies in Bradenton, which has developed tennis greats like Andre Agassi and Maria Sharapova and now U.S. Amateur Champion in golf, Ben An.
• This year, Bradenton landed the Marauders minor league ballclub that plays at McKechnie Field, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have held spring training in Bradenton for years.
• The Sarasota Polo Club, at University Parkway and Lorraine Road in Lakewood Ranch, has been hosting polo matches featuring athletes from around the world since 1991.
• The Benderson Park rowing facility, just south of University Parkway near Interstate 75, began to pull in athletes from around the country last year and has potential to evolve into an international destination for the sport.
- Map: New sports centers for Lakewood Ranch | Graphics
Recent developments and new visions are molding this Southwest Florida county into a sports mecca for anyone from the casual high school athlete to aspiring professionals in golf, tennis, baseball, swimming and more.
On Friday, local contractors broke ground at a site off Lakewood Ranch Boulevard for a $1.5 million indoor baseball facility.
Also expected to make its home in Lakewood Ranch is the elite Springbok sports training center, designed to house and train gifted athletes in several disciplines.
And then there are plans by Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, developer of Lakewood Ranch, to build a 200-acre amateur sports complex near the new post office off Lorraine Road.
These bold strides into the sporting world could have a "tremendously beneficial impact" on the local economy, said Dev Pathik, founder and CEO of Sports Facilities Advisory in Clearwater.
His company has worked on more than 80 sports programming projects in communities around the country.
"These developments bring sports tourism dollars that benefit hoteliers, restaurants, tourism and recreation operators, and local retail establishments," he said.
The proposed Springbok Sports Club & Academy -- which would be at the eastern end of University Parkway a few miles east of Lorraine -- could even lead to families relocating to the area from around the world as their children train.
Springbok is backed by big names like golf guru Rick Smith and retired Grand Slam tennis champion Johan Kriek, a Sarasota resident and project partner.
Springbok planners are still in the process of finalizing funding for the $110 million sports facility, said Tim Morris, CEO of developer Corvus International. Original plans called for a late 2010 opening.
Springbok -- named after an agile African antelope -- would take about 500 students for tennis, golf, baseball, swimming and gymnastics programs. Tuition at the new center would range from $30,000 to $40,000 annually.
Springbok is tailored to more "affluent, athletically gifted" people, said SMR President Rex Jensen.
But the 200-acre outdoors complex proposed by SMR at the northeast corner of State Road 70 and Greenbrook Boulevard would be geared toward amateurs.
"I intend it to be more pedestrian, more average America and largely geared toward high school athletes," Jensen said.
The hope is to also lure organized sports teams from northern states and Canada for year-round training and tournaments.
The current layout of the SMR facility calls for 24 soccer fields and possibly concessions and locker rooms.
The facility then has room to eventually add ballparks and fields for lacrosse, ultimate Frisbee, cheerleading and more, Jensen said.
There is no timetable for construction, but roads and water and sewer lines already built in the area will reduce starting costs and time, Jensen said.
SMR expects the complex to be an economic driver for the area.
"That area really is the center of the Ranch geographically," Jensen added. "I think you can't get any better placemaker or marketing tool than a field full of active young people."
The Manatee-based C & H Baseball company has been planning its new baseball training facility for nearly seven years. Construction on the 17,000 square-foot building at 10615 Technology Terrace began Friday.
The new building will house the company's manufacturing division and a sporting area with six batting cages, weightlifting and artificial turf grounds that could accommodate baseball, soccer, golf and lacrosse groups.
C & H Baseball makes equipment for Major League Baseball teams and their facilities.
Lucas Sanchez, 16, is excited to hear about the new sports offerings coming to the area.
The Lakewood Ranch High School sophomore participates on the varsity swim, wrestling and powerlifting teams and trains daily, he said.
"I'd look into any of these new places as somewhere to train and get better at my sports," Sanchez said. "Even if I don't do the sport the place is meant for, it's still exciting because in the end it's good for other athletes and amps up competition."
The developments will enrich the community and raise the bar in local sports, said Maureen Reid, swim coach at Lakewood Ranch High School and the neighboring YMCA.
"It will be challenging but nice to have some diversity here because the kids will see more talent from outside the area," she said. "With so much growth and so many children around, you just can't have enough of this."
