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Dick's Sporting Goods

Big changes coming to The Grove

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The Grove at Wesley Chapel shopping center is in store for a major makeover — something being hyped as a future downtown entertainment district for the growing Pasco County community.

Owner and developer Mark Gold unveiled his vision for the property during a North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce luncheon last month.

He has sweeping plans for the large, but rather traditional strip mall, which is situated west of I-75 and north of State Road 54 .

New renderings for The Grove at Wesley Chapel show the addition of KRATE, a new plaza that will feature an 87-space container boutique shopping and restaurant park, plus an adjacent amphitheater and stage, trampoline park, miniature sports and more. KRATE is expected to be up and running within the next three months to six months, Gold said. (Courtesy of The Grove at Wesley Chapel)

The Grove is already  home to a 16-screen theater and more than a dozen national retail chains, including Dick’s Sporting Goods, Best Buy, Old Navy and others.

Gold purchased The Grove for $62.7 million in September, through parent company Mishorim USA Real Estate Investments.

While many of those major retail spaces will remain in place, it’s what Gold has in mind for the property’s surrounding 114 acres of vacant land that’s been generating buzz.

“I’m going to build a downtown Wesley Chapel,” he told a packed room of chamber members at New Tampa’s Pebble Creek Golf Club on Jan. 23.

To do that, the developer is bringing an 87-space container park to the plaza, predicting it could open within the next three months to six months.

Called KRATE, it will feature renovated shipping containers filled mainly by mom and pop boutique shops and unique eateries. The containers will be grouped together by walkways with options for indoor and outdoor seating. Curbside parking will be available, too.

Gold said he’s already leased 96% of the container park, which includes as many as 35 eateries, all with “different tastes, different feeling.”

That many food options in one spot alone will be a major draw, he said.

“If you put 35 restaurants in one place, it brings a lot of people, because people want the variety — the kids want to eat something, mother wants to eat something else,” Gold said.

The Grove’s KRATE area will be surrounded by an entertainment complex, with a large amphitheater and stage, and family friendly activities, such as a trampoline park and various miniature sports, Gold added.

Gold also announced that he has secured a permit from the Pasco Commission to allow alcohol to be consumed throughout KRATE — news greeted by loud cheers and applause from chamber members.

The developer’s concept is somewhat similar to Sparkman Wharf in downtown Tampa’s Channelside District, perhaps on an even grander scale.

He predicted that The Grove, over time, will become “a place to be,” as a one-of-a-kind destination attracting people from all over Tampa Bay.

He think it fills a need in Wesley Chapel, particularly for families.

He put it like this: “There’s lots of kids in this area with nothing to do. If you want to do something, you need to drive to South Tampa and suffer through the traffic. I want South Tampa to come to us.”

Weekly and monthly community and cultural events also are planned for The Grove and KRATE, Gold said.

For instance, there will be a nationwide graffiti contest for KRATE, where each container park will be able to get its own unique design. For example, the outside of a pizza eatery could be decorated up with Italian-style food images. “Graffiti alone is an event,” he said.

The developer also envisions a local-based singing competition, modeled somewhat after NBC’s TV program, “The Voice,” with winners receiving cash prizes upward of $10,000.

“Everything is on the table,” he said.

While he has loads of ideas, he’s also seeking input from business leaders and residents.

“Please be involved, it’s important,” he told chamber members. “If there’s something that’s not good, or there’s something you really like, let us know. I’m not from here, so I really don’t know, I can only guess.”

In addition to The Grove, Gold operates more than a dozen commercial properties, mainly throughout the southeastern United States, including Florida locations in Jacksonville and Orlando. Many of those properties include attractions, such as indoor roller rinks, zip lines in parking lots, haunted houses, obstacle courses, trampoline parks, climbing walls and arcades.

He decided to purchase The Grove after hearing about the massive growth happening in Wesley Chapel and surrounding communities, he said.

With reports of another 50,000 homes coming online in the next 24 months, Wesley Chapel has been labeled the fastest-growing community in the Tampa Bay area, and one of the fastest in all of the southeastern U.S.

Gold sees the potential.

Published February 05, 2020

Pasco’s tourism director wants to take a new approach

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Adam Thomas envisions Pasco County becoming one of Florida’s “must-see” tourism destinations.

Aside from mostly pleasant weather, the county lays its claim to bountiful ecotourism, miles of bike trails, premier multipurpose sports facilities — as well as beaches and resorts.

“We have a lot of opportunities,” said Thomas, who is Pasco’s newest tourism director.

“Our destination is really primed for success in the future, and ready for success now. We have a lot of key attractions and key different segments in tourism right here…”

Thomas, 38, started his $82,000-a-year job in September.

New Pasco County tourism director Adam Thomas shared his vision during a Nov. 8 luncheon hosted by The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce. He began the job in September. (Kevin Weiss)

He shared his vision for Pasco County’s Office of Tourism Development — which is known as Visit Pasco — during a Nov. 8 luncheon hosted by The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce.

He expressed confidence in the county’s tourism offerings, but he said the county’s current strategy “lacks an identity.”

“Not one person can identify what our brand is, as a tourism destination,” Thomas told chamber members and county stakeholders gathered at the Fox Hollow Golf Club.

Thomas needs to develop a brand strategy that highlights the county’s assets and create a business model that attracts not just locals, but also resonates with people “50 miles and beyond.”

He noted he has considerable work to do to attract visitors that will produce economic impact over the course of the year.

Most recently, Thomas served as director of the Citrus County Visitor’s Bureau, since 2013. Before that, he was a minor league baseball player, a career that spanned more than a decade, and took him to three continents and countless cities across the United States.

Thomas replaced Doug Traub, who left after just three months on the job as the county’s first tourism director. Traub arrived in Pasco from Lake Havasu, Arizona, where he was the chief executive officer of the visitor and tourism bureau.

Pasco County previously had a tourism manager position, but the director’s job expands on those duties to handle long-range strategic goals.

In Citrus County, Thomas said tourism generated $11.7 million in sales taxes in 2016, ultimately saving each county household about $197 on taxes that year.

“Something that I love about our industry is that it’s no tax burden on the citizens in their household, but it’s providing economic sustainability,” Thomas said.

Duplicating results for Pasco, he said, starts with auditing each event and festival coordinated by his office — to determine whether or not they drive hotel room nights and create an economic impact that “brings the highest yield of investment.”

Thomas noted Visit Pasco last year spent $285,000 on local events and festivals, and $160,000 on tourism advertising initiatives.

He questioned whether those local events — such as the Pasco County Fair in Dade City and the Chasco Fiesta in New Port Richey — actually entice tourists and nonresidents.

“On an annual basis, we’re spending more money on local events and festivals than we actually do marketing the destination,” he said. “We have to take a look at the bigger picture.”

The tourism director also panned the economic model for the Dick’s Sporting Good Tournament of Champions in Wesley Chapel, a youth lacrosse showcase that draws more than 50 teams from more than a dozen states, as well as Canada. The three-day event has been held in the county each year since 2008.

Thomas pointed out the county spent a combined $694,000 on the three-day event over the last seven years alone.

“That’s a $94,000 (annual) bill for us, with 80 percent of the rooms going to Tampa. Is that a good business decision?” he asked.

“It’s really not all about heads and beds. It’s about getting the right event or the right audience in our destination to create the highest economic impact and the highest visitor expenditure. That’s going to offset costs, again, to the local community in the sales tax,” he said.

He also detailed some of his long-term ideas.

He said he wants to lure more small conferences and trade associations — with various incentive packages — to places such as Saddlebrook Resort & Spa and the forthcoming Wiregrass Sports Complex, both of which offer thousands of square feet of meeting space, along with numerous recreation opportunities.

“These are small, little initiatives that can really make an impact to the entire community,” Thomas said.

He also wants to popularize scallop harvesting in west Pasco, with the approval of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Scalloping was a draw for traveling families in Citrus County between June and September, he said.

Drawing other profitable sporting events and fishing tournaments are definite possibilities, too.

Elsewhere, Thomas wants to furnish interactive kiosks and mobile video displays to promote the county at events and trade shows. He noted other communities have introduced digital billboards, videos and virtual reality to portray their respective various tourist attractions.

“There’s a lot of things our office hasn’t been doing in the past that we need to be doing moving forward,” he said. “We’re behind the eight-ball a little bit…”

Meanwhile, Thomas plans to completely rebrand “Visit Pasco” during the next several months.

He plans to have a consulting firm in place by January to help with new branding, as well as marketing efforts.

The process could take anywhere from six months to eight months, he said.

“We first have to identify who our target audience is…and we have to do that through a brand and research strategy where a firm comes in and works directly with our events holders, our properties, to actually find out who’s coming here and why,” he explained.

“We have some really key attractions, but it’s all going to be a part of the brand umbrella,” Thomas said.

Whatever slogan is selected, Thomas wants Pasco to identify as an entirely separate entity from Tampa — not merely an extension of it.

“We want to pull ourselves away from Tampa,” he said, “and the only way we’re going to be able to do that is with the brand strategy to be a standalone competing destination for it.

“We don’t want to be a room night, a day trip from Tampa into Pasco. We don’t want to be a bedroom community to Tampa,” Thomas said.

Thomas and his staff of two will have a budget based on the recent doubling of Pasco’s tourism tax, to 4 percent from 2 percent.

The surcharge on overnight hotel stays and other short-term rentals had remained at 2 percent for 26 years, until August.

Pasco officials estimate the additional 2 percent tourism tax will generate an additional $1.2 million in fiscal 2018, which began Oct. 11.

Published November 15, 2017

More construction pops up on State Road 56

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Until recently the south side of State Road 56, by the Interstate 75 interchange, created the most commercial buzz.

Tampa Premium Outlets and a slew of restaurants turned grassland into a shopping and dining mecca.

More is on the way.

Construction is nearly complete on Wendy’s and Taco Bell, on Sierra Center Boulevard at Cypress Creek Town Center. The restaurants will join Ford’s Garage and Pollo Tropical, which opened a few months ago. (Kathy Steele)

Starbucks is the latest opening on the south side of the highway. It’s next to Culver’s.

But, now it’s the north side of the state road that’s starting to see a surge of new restaurants and shops as the next phase of Cypress Creek Town Center kicks into gear.

Sierra Center Boulevard, off the entryway at Grand Cypress Drive, is the center of the activity.

The town center straddles both sides of State Road 56, at its juncture with Wesley Chapel Boulevard and Interstate 75. The southern side largely is being developed by Simon Properties and Richard E. Jacobs, with Sierra Properties in control on the northern side. Its properties are listed under the ownership of Pasco Ranch, Inc.

Ford’s Garage and Pollo Tropical, which opened in recent months, were first up for Sierra.

Now, Wendy’s and Taco Bell are nearly ready for fast-food delivery.

Heading east along Sierra Center, work crews are rolling out a parking lot and laying landscaping for a multi-store retail center.

According to county permitting records, Men’s Wearhouse, Mellow Mushroom, Mattress One, T-Mobile, and Great Clips are future tenants.

Hutton, with headquarters in Chattanooga, is developing the retail center. Hutton representatives could not be reached for additional details.

A stand-alone Chuy’s Mexican Restaurant is slated for a spot just east of the shopping strip, according to county records.

In January, a pre-application meeting was held with county planners to discuss a location on Sierra Center for Bahama Breeze Island Grill.

Another restaurant headed to Cypress Creek is Newk’s Eatery. According to QSR Magazine, the company, based in Jackson, Mississippi, plans to open as many as 30 new restaurants in Florida in five years. Central Florida and the Tampa Bay area are target markets, with a menu of fresh-made soups, salads, sandwiches and California-style pizzas.

According to its website, the founders also opened McAlister’s Deli.

On the northern side of Sierra Center, permits for infrastructure have been issued attached to brand names of Dick’s Sporting Goods, Pet Smart and Burlington.

Five Below also is landing in the town center. The shop is a cornucopia for teens and preteens looking for games, jewelry, candy, makeup, computer gear, DVDs, books, school supplies and novelties. Everything is low-budget at $5 or below.

A six-story, 132-room Hyatt hotel is in permitting stages for infrastructure on another outparcel in the eastern area of Cypress Creek.

Cypress Creek could end up with two grocery stores.

Aldi representatives inquired in March about opening one of its discount grocery stores on an outparcel owned by Sierra that is at an entrance into Tampa Premium Outlets.

In June, a pre-application meeting was scheduled to discuss an approximately 24,000 square-foot grocery store at the northwest corner of State Road 56 and Wesley Chapel Boulevard – across from the Aldi site. That grocery store was not identified.

Plans also call for another 11,500 square feet of retail.

Published July 12, 2017

‘Florida Finale’ event added to lacrosse tourney

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A popular youth lacrosse tournament in Wesley Chapel soon will feature even more teams from across the nation.

NDP (National Development Program) Lacrosse announced last month it will debut the Dick’s Sporting Goods Florida Finale lacrosse tournament, held in conjunction with the 11th annual Tournament of Champions presented by Pasco County.

The Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions typically draws more than 70 teams. The participation-based Florida Finale event should add to that figure. (File Photo)
The Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions typically draws more than 70 teams. The participation-based Florida Finale event should add to that figure.
(File Photo)

The Florida Finale event, like the pre-collegiate national championship, will feature high school elite and rising stars divisions, as well as 15U, 13U and 11U competitions.

Both tournaments will take place simultaneously on fields at Wesley Chapel District Park and Wesley Chapel High School, from Dec. 29 through Dec. 31.

The biggest difference, however, is the invitation process.

While teams must earn bids to compete in the Tournament of Champions, entry into the Florida Finale is open to all teams that participate in an official qualifying tournament this year that do not earn a national championship bid. One local qualifying tournament — the Derek Pieper Memorial Cup Tournament at Wesley Chapel District Park — wrapped up on Nov. 20.

“Coaches and players from teams that haven’t qualified have been asking for the opportunity to play lacrosse over New Year’s in warm, sunny Florida,” said Josh Gross, NDP’s senior director of lacrosse operations. “This event will be a great extension of the qualifying tournament series and the coveted national championship platform.”

Ed Caum
Ed Caum

Ed Caum, Pasco County’s tourism manager, said the Florida Finale add-on is a “no-brainer” due to the anticipated economic boost for the Tampa Bay area.

“We’re going to have more foot traffic through the Wesley Chapel area,” Caum said, “so it’s going to affect…Fowler Avenue all the way up through Wesley Chapel, and maybe as far north as Dade City because (hotel) rooms are already hard to come by.”

That being said, the Florida Finale likely won’t create a large draw until next year, since the event’s formal announcement was made too late for many travel lacrosse teams.

Gross noted “a few teams” have indicated they’ll compete in this year’s Florida Finale, but he expects a considerable participation bump in 2017.

“There’s definitely a lot of interest for it. I think in 2017 is when you’re really going to have the impact from it,” Gross said.

“A lot of teams are setting their schedule for next year,” he added, “and they can let the parents prepare for it as an expected expense and something they can book further out.”

Last year, the Tournament of Champions alone drew 73 teams — 59 of which were out-of-state. The 2015 tournament involved 1,533 players and 219 coaches. Additionally, there were about 3,250 spectators on each day of the three-day tournament.

The event’s economic impact for the Tampa Bay area is typically substantial.

Josh Gross
Josh Gross

The total impact in 2015 was estimated at about $2.1 million for Pasco and Hillsborough counties. That figure, however, is down compared to prior years, including 2014 ($2.9 million) and 2013 ($2.6 million), respectively.

Besides the economic uptick, the tournament offers lacrosse players a chance to showcase their skills against elite competition, exposing their abilities in front of scouts from collegiate lacrosse programs.

“These are all-star teams that travel from different places around the country. We truly get some of the best competition in the world,” Gross explained.

In June, Pasco County and NDP signed a two-year deal (which includes a third-year option) through 2017 to keep the Tournament of Champions in Wesley Chapel.

“We’ve got so much building in this area, including more hotels, that it just made more sense to do a two-year and see what we got,” Caum said.

The tournament has been in Wesley Chapel since 2008.

Published November 30, 2016

Riding the Route 54 County Connector

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They cut the ribbon on a posh new bus a few weeks ago, signaling optimistic expansion of Pasco County’s two-year-old east-west route linking Zephyrhills and New Port Richey.

Assembled under a fan-cooled tent in the parking lot of the Medical Center at Trinity, officials spoke buoyantly about the future of mass transit in Pasco County, with the bus in the background lending physical evidence to their commitment.

And, what evidence it is. Sleek. Ocean blue, emblazoned with a green and yellow stripe undulating across the side — a wave below a bright ball of sun and a seagull taking wing.

Courtesy of Pasco County Pasco County is using this new bus in an expansion of its east-west route, linking Zephyrhills and New Port Richey.
Courtesy of Pasco County
Pasco County is using this new bus in an expansion of its east-west route, linking Zephyrhills and New Port Richey.

Inside, more blue. Soothing. Welcoming. Comfy, upholstered padded seats that say, sit, rest, stay awhile. Overhead, adjustable air conditioning vents and reading lights, just like on intra-city buses and airliners. Upscale.

And, that’s not all. Over the next several months, they’ll add free Wi-Fi, introducing the option of online productivity or entertainment to your ride, while Pasco County Public Transportation drivers get you pretty close to where you need to go.

It’s all perfectly splendid. But, so far, it’s also all a dream. Not that the new buses, two of them, aren’t authentic. Or, that Pasco’s commitment to mass transit isn’t both enthusiastic and genuine. But, there’s a reason there’s no mention of “rapid” in the system’s official name, as we shall see.

Let’s be clear. If, just now, it serves as nothing more than a symbolic reminder that Pasco is a single, unified entity, and not some geographic hybrid stitched together by whimsical bureaucrats and maintained by stubborn tradition, then the connector serves a valuable purpose.

Still, the additional buses, acquired through a $1.031 million grant from the Florida Department of Transportation, represent a severe test of the “Field of Dreams” launching instructions. If they drive them, will riders come?

Having traveled the line, designated the “Route 54 County Connector,” roundtrip from Zephyrhills to the Trinity hospital recently, I can say without hesitation: Winning converts is going to take time.

And, that’s a generous review. The trip, which, even following the bus’ roundabout circuit, could have been accomplished by car in about two hours, took more than twice as long.

Possibly because of this snail’s pace, there were long stretches where I was the only passenger aboard. At its most crowded — after a late-afternoon stop at the Wiregrass campus of Pasco-Hernando State College — I shared my ride with five others.

Not that you can’t meet pleasant company along the way, among them Jonathan Funnel (pronounced “foo-NELL,” accent on the second syllable), 25, who routinely rides from the Zephyrhills City Hall stop to The Groves for his job at the Cobb cineplex.

Funnel, who reports he loves all movies, everything having to do with baseball, plus the NFL’s Packers and Eagles, likes that the bus drops him near the Grove’s Dick’s Sporting Goods store. “It’s heaven,” he says.

Among the notes jotted by Funnel’s traveling companion: “We rode together about 25 minutes. A car couldn’t have done much better.” Our driver, Jose Rojas, 62, a retired postal worker from Land O’ Lakes who piloted heavy machinery as a Marine, observes pleasantly, “Today’s been rainy. There’s no traffic. I love it.”

About then the radio squawks. The bus out of Zephyrhills goes only as far as The Shops at Wiregrass. There, in the parking garage, westbound passengers switch. But, the connector, bound from Trinity, is caught in a snarl triggered by a crash near Collier Parkway.

“Uh-oh,” Rojas murmurs. When we arrive at the mall terminus, the driver apologizes for the delay with a what-are-you-gonna-do shrug, adding “He’ll be along in a while.”

He’s seven minutes early, so he gets out and stretches, groaning pleasantly. No passengers board before Rojas makes his on-time departure, half-a-million-dollars of empty bus.

“A while” turns out to be most of a half hour, which allows time to strike up a conversation with Odette Rennie, 69, a Virgin Islander who settled in a Land O’ Lakes village along State Road 54 sometime after a nearly catastrophic accident in Los Angeles broke her right arm in three places and convinced her to swear off personal transportation almost completely.

She’ll ride if her husband or son are driving. Otherwise, she takes the bus, even though she concedes — as do many fans of public transportation — managing the last half-mile home presents challenges of its own. Some days it’s brutally hot. Today, near the Ferman new car dealership, she exits into a downpour, lamenting she’d left her big umbrella at home.

Worse, because the bus is designed to drop passengers onto raised platforms, Rennie makes a big step onto an unpaved shoulder, punctuating the maneuver, “Ow, wow!”

After that, riders come and go singly. One seems to have just finished a shift at Big Lots; he falls asleep immediately. Another, at the Suncoast Parkway, has come from a bike ride. He loads his two-wheeler on the front, drops coins in the slot, slumps into a seat and, buds in ears, studies his smartphone. Farther up, a boarding passenger complains that the bus is late. She doesn’t want to hear about the accident.

Nobody does. If the buses are adequate, and this one is more than that, nothing kills ridership quite like blown schedules. On the day they snipped the ribbon, Commissioner Kathryn Starkey conceded as much. “We’ll never get people out of their cars as long as buses can get stuck in traffic. We need real bus rapid transit” — that is, buses traveling in lanes reserved only for buses.

Still, if you’re not in a rush, there’s something to be said for riding, especially if you take one of the scenic seats a couple of steps up in the back. Not driving means you can fixate on industrious egrets following a tractor-drawn mower hacking through a pasture. Not driving and sitting up high means you finally see over the reeds to the little lagoon with a small dock framed in lattice west of Keystone Community Church.

Being alone, being chauffeured, means your thoughts can wander. I’m thinking, from time to time, riding the bus just might be therapeutic. And, at $3 a roundtrip, it will be cheaper than any shrink.

This is the buzz in my head at the end of my four-hour odyssey. It could have been worse. And my mind is oddly at ease. If I’m ever not in a hurry again, I could do this.

 Published Oct. 19, 2016

 

 

Lacrosse tournament to stay in Wesley Chapel

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Lacrosse players from across the nation will compete in Wesley Chapel at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions for at least the next two years.

Pasco County and NDP (National Development Program) Lacrosse have entered into an agreement that covers the tournament for 2016 and 2017.

Last year’s tournament had a $2.1 million economic impact on Pasco and Hillsborough counties, said Ed Caum, Pasco County’s tourism manager.

Opponents face off in a previous Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions game. (File Photo)
Opponents face off in a previous Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions game.
(File Photo)

With new developments — such as Tampa Premium Outlets and Florida Hospital Center Ice, as well as other businesses and restaurants — there’s potential for an even greater economic return from the visitors, Caum said.

“We are very pleased the Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions lacrosse tournament will be returning to Wesley Chapel,” Tracy Clouser, board chair of The Greater Wesley Chamber of Commerce, said via email. “We feel the area has a lot to offer tournament attendees and their support of our hotels, restaurants and shopping venues has a significant economic impact on our community.”

Besides the economic boost, the tournament offers lacrosse players a chance to showcase their skills, and colleges a chance to scout for players, Caum said.

Teams from the United States and Canada earn bids at qualifying tournaments to compete for the national championship across five divisions.

The tournament has been held at the Wesley Chapel District Park and at Wesley Chapel High School since 2008.

Ed Caum
Ed Caum

This past year, 73 teams competed. Fifty-nine came from out-of-state and 14 were from Florida, Caum said. The 2015 tournament involved 1,533 players and 219 coaches. There were about 3,250 spectators on each day of the tournament, which takes place each year from Dec. 29 through Dec. 31.

On average, those traveling to the tournament stayed in the area for 3 ½ days to 4 days, Caum said.

But, the tourism manager thinks more can be done to extend their stay.

And, he’s begun reaching out to area sponsors to help make that happen.

“The event kicks off at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Store. They are at The Grove every year.

“There’s a number of other days that they’re going to be in the area. I’d like to see all of our shopping centers and local businesses step up and do some sponsorship to provide opportunities, to move these teams and their families around the whole Pasco area.

“I’d love to see them go to Tree Hoppers, the new cable adventure park. I’d love to see them take an opportunity to go out to SunWest, because even in January that water temperature stays between 72 and 75 degrees because it’s spring-fed.

“You actually could be out there on that giant water playground at the end of December.”

Caum also would like to see more of the visitors bed down for the night in Pasco County.

“I’ve got the report from NDP Lacrosse. About 20 percent of the participants stayed in Pasco and 80 percent stayed in Hillsborough,” Caum said, that’s a 20 percent increase in the number of visitors choosing Hillsborough hotels, instead of staying in Pasco.

“We had a number of our hoteliers that had raised their price up,” the tourism manager said. Families that may have preferred to stay in Pasco were priced out and stayed in Hillsborough hotels instead, he said.

“We’re going to partner with the hotels a lot closer,” Caum said.

“Just because you have a great event coming in, you can’t gouge your participants. We’re hoping that they don’t do that again this year,” Caum said.

There was a time, back in 2012, when the lacrosse tournament’s future in Pasco County was uncertain. Back then, the tournament was being courted by IMG Academies, an elite athletic training facility in Bradenton.

But, Pasco upped the ante in their bid to keep the tournament and were able to secure it for four more years.

This time, the county signed a two-year deal with a third-year option, Caum said.

The county didn’t want to tie the contract to the Wesley Chapel District Park and the fields at Wesley Chapel High School for a longer period, Caum said.

“We may have a new field complex, depending on what rolls out with the sports complex,” Caum said, referring to Pasco County’s ongoing efforts to open a new sports complex.

Regardless of where the event is, however, Caum said the county wants to continue the involvement of the Wesley Chapel Athletic Association.

“We could not do it without them,” Caum said. “They’re the ones who provide all of the volunteers, and do all of the concessions and stuff.”

“That’s another reason that the NDP wanted to come back, because of the relationship they have (with the Wesley Chapel Athletic Association) — they have that volunteer base,” Caum said.

“Pasco County’s Board of County Commissioners, its Tourist Development Council and the Wesley Chapel Athletic Association have provided tremendous support to the event for nearly a decade,” Josh Gross, NDP’s vice president of business operations, said in a news release announcing the two-year deal.

Published June 8, 2016

Tourism continues to rise in Pasco

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Pasco County’s tourism figures continue to rise, and the prospects are bright for even more growth, according to Ed Caum, the county’s tourism manager.

Ed Caum, tourism manager for Pasco County, likes to remind people that tourists provide an important source of tax revenues in Pasco County and across Florida. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Ed Caum, tourism manager for Pasco County, likes to remind people that tourists provide an important source of tax revenues in Pasco County and across Florida.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

Caum has been making the rounds to share the county’s news about another year of positive growth — following record numbers posted last year. He recently shared the county’s tourism story with members of the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce during their luncheon meeting at the Heritage Harbor Golf and Country Club.

The county is on track to break its record in tourist tax collections.

It has collected $593,712 in tourist tax collections since October 2015, a 13.5 percent increase over last year, when it set its all-time record.

Caum said the county expects to exceed last year’s total, which exceeded $968,000.

Pasco isn’t known for gigantic theme parks and miles of pristine coastline, but it offers plenty of wide open spaces and lots of “quirky and eclectic attractions,” Caum said.

Just last year, Tampa Premium Outlets, off State Road 54 and Interstate 75, opened a 441,000-square-foot mall, featuring 110 retailers.

Cyclists from across the country made the trek to Pasco County in March to ride in the Gran Fondo Florida racing event. It is one of eight events across the country that are held as part of the Gran Fondo National Championship Series. (FIle Photos)
Cyclists from across the country made the trek to Pasco County in March to ride in the Gran Fondo Florida racing event. It is one of eight events across the country that are held as part of the Gran Fondo National Championship Series.
(File Photo)

Later this year, Florida Hospital Center Ice is set to open off State Road 56, parallel to Interstate 75, and that’s expected to draw scores of regional tournaments, and vie for national tournaments, too.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions presented by Pasco County draws competitors from the U.S. and Canada to Wesley Chapel every year. And, Gran Fondo Florida draws cyclists from all over the country to East Pasco’s rolling hills.

There’s an assortment of other events and attractions for people who enjoy a bit of adventure. There’s Tree Hoppers, in Dade City, a zip line course designed for aerial adventurers of all ability levels, and there’s SunWest Park, which is expected to attract worldwide attention for its beach volleyball courts and its wakeboard course.

And, there are fun events, such as the annual Kumquat Festival and the Florida Bug Jam in Dade City.

Besides all that, Pasco County has an international reputation for its nudist resorts, which account for about 20 percent of the county’s tourist tax revenues, Caum said.

Giraffe Ranch, in Dade City, gives visitors a chance to witness the lives of giraffes, living under huge live oaks and in open grasslands. (Courtesy of Pasco County)
Giraffe Ranch, in Dade City, gives visitors a chance to witness the lives of giraffes, living under huge live oaks and in open grasslands.
(Courtesy of Pasco County)

Plus, the county likes to promote its microbreweries and its Farm to Table restaurants, Caum said.

Tourist attractions do more than just offer people a chance to have fun, Caum said.

“Tourism is economic development,” he said.

Attracting people to the area gives them a chance to see what it has to offer.

Many visitors decide to become permanent residents, and some of their companies come with them, Caum said.

That leads to job growth, which helps propel the economy, he said.

Plus, taxes paid by tourists reduce the tax burden for Florida residents, which benefits everyone who lives here, Caum said.

So, when it comes to promoting the county, that’s everybody’s job, the tourism manager said.

He likes to tell a story about overhearing a young waiter being asked by a visitor what there was to do around Pasco County.

The waiter replied: “I’ve lived here forever. There’s nothing to do in Pasco County.”

That, the tourism manager said, is a missed opportunity.

Published May 18, 2016

More than 70 teams at lacrosse tournament in Wesley Chapel

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Wesley Chapel is gearing up for a lacrosse tournament that attracts teams from across the country and provides an economic boost for Pasco County.

The Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions presented by Pasco County is slated for Dec. 29 through Dec. 31.

The tournament, operated by NDP Lacrosse, will showcase 73 elite teams from five youth divisions that will be vying for national titles. The teams are coming from 15 states, as well as one team from Ontario, Canada.

Opponents face off in a previous Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions game. (Courtesy of NDP Lacrosse)
Opponents face off in a previous Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions game.
(Courtesy of NDP Lacrosse)

The tournament, which moved to Pasco County in 2008, has been referred to as the “inaugural national championship” for pre-collegiate lacrosse players on club teams.

“This is not your high school team or your local rec team,” said Josh Gross, NDP’s senior director of lacrosse operations. “These are all-star teams that travel from different places around the country. There have been some (other organizations) that have tried to replicate it, but none to the (level of) success that we’ve had.

“We truly get some of the best competition in the world,” said Gross, whose organization’s acronym, NDP, stands for National Development Program.”

The number of teams participating is slightly down from previous years due to rising travel costs, but the event is still expected to bring in a considerable amount of revenue for Wesley Chapel and Pasco County.

“It’s my understanding that it brings approximately a $2.6 million economic impact to our community,” said Hope Allen, president of The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce. “That’s from nights in hotels, eating food, and shopping at our malls.”

With the event falling under the umbrella of the holiday season, many of the lacrosse teams and the players’ families remain in the area for several few days before and after the tournament, said Pasco County Tourism Manager Ed Caum.

“They come down after Christmas and stay through Christmas (break), and enjoy what they can do here after the tournament,” he said. “They can go off to Busch Gardens or down to the Florida Aquarium, so it definitely has a good impact to the Tampa Bay region.”

The tournament, which is held at both the Wesley Chapel District Park and Wesley Chapel High School, had 25 teams when it began operating in Pasco County.

Its growth since then has paved the way for the Wesley Chapel Athletic Association (WCAA) to make capital improvements in facilities, said Tom FitzSimons, WCAA president.

FitzSimons said the tournament also has given exposure to a plethora of local lacrosse players that compete in the event.

“A lot of these kids have grown athletically in the program because they had the ability to play not only teams in Florida, but (teams from) all over the country,” FitzSimons said. “It’s helped them as far as progressing to the next level in college. Upwards of 60 kids that have played with us that played in this event have gone on to play in college.”

The NDP’s existing four-year contract with Pasco County ends after this year, but there is mutual interest to see if a new agreement can be reached.

Gross said he’s excited for the event’s future and hopes it can remain in Pasco County.

“Pasco County, the Wesley Chapel Athletic Association, Saddlebrook Resort and other local partners have been tremendous to NDP and to the event for years,” he said. “We have nothing but great things to say about them.”

For Pasco County, Caum noted there is “about a $100,000 investment” in originally bringing and keeping the tournament in the area.

FitzSimons said the event is really about making a “commitment to the community” for Wesley Chapel.

“I understand the financial parts and everything else, but we’d really like to keep it here and support everything we’re doing in Wesley Chapel,” he said. “Not just from a sport program perspective, but all the growth we’ve seen in keeping these businesses hopping all times of the year.

“I know that we get called pretty much annually from businesses wanting to know when the event is, so they can staff up,” he said.

Published December 23, 2015

 

Growth at The Grove may depend on traffic light

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Hiring has begun at a Chuck E. Cheese’s store now under construction at The Grove at Wesley Chapel, a shopping center opened at the height of the recent housing boom, which is now growing again.

How much the shopping center bordering Interstate 75 will expand, however, depends on the cooperation developers get from Pasco County officials.

Future growth at The Grove at Wesley Chapel depends on help from the county to keep traffic moving in and out of the shopping complex off County Road 54. (Fred Bellet/Photo)
Future growth at The Grove at Wesley Chapel depends on help from the county to keep traffic moving in and out of the shopping complex off County Road 54. (Fred Bellet/Photo)

“The challenge we have with all the major future development out of The Grove centers around the fact that the project lacks a traffic signal at the main entrance,” Jim Mazzarelli, managing director at Genesis Real Estate Advisers — the company working with The Grove developers — told members of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce last week. “As our engineers say, we don’t have an ingress problem, we have an egress problem. You can get in, but you can’t get out.”

The Grove has two entrances off County Road 54, using Oakley Boulevard less than 1,000 feet from the I-75 interchange, and Gateway Boulevard, located another 800 feet or so from there, where customers can find a traffic signal.

Getting to Gateway is not easy, however. Shoppers have to leave The Grove, turn onto Dayflower Boulevard, and then turn onto Gateway on the other side of an Econo Lodge. Anyone wanting to drive just straight out on Oakley either has to make a right turn, or journey across three lanes of traffic to make a U-turn at Gateway.

“It’s a really awkward work-around,” Mazzarelli said. “It might work for everyone who is there now, but it doesn’t work for the big anchors who are going to come in and invest millions in a store. That’s a hurdle we’ve been working to overcome for the better part of three-and-a-half years. We’re getting there, but it’s a long road.”

One 17-acre piece of land on the southern end of The Grove property, for example, is set up for a large box store, like a Lowe’s or Target, Mazzarelli said. The land has been vacant since The Grove opened in 2007, but developers are in negotiations with a large department store “with a well-known name.”

Such a deal, however, is contingent with adding a traffic light for the Oakley connection to County Road 54. The Grove developers already have spent more than $250,000 in studies and other work to get that light in, but it still hasn’t happened.

“We are not taking this lightly by any means,” Mazzarelli said. “It is a critical element to the center as it stands today, especially right now when it’s only half built-out.”

Although 54 is now a county road, there are still Florida Department of Transportation restrictions in place since it controls the traffic lights for vehicles looking to access I-75. Generally DOT wants 1,260 feet separating traffic lights, and by adding one on Oakley, that would put three traffic lights in a stretch of road totaling a little more than 2,000 feet.

“If you put in another stop light, that and the other two stop lights already there creates the possibility of traffic backing up into the off-ramps of the interstate,” county spokesman Douglas Tobin said. “We are reviewing that, but one solution might be if you put a stop light in there, we have an agreement that, in the future, if it backs up, we’d be able to remove it.”

Other hindrances to expansion are restrictions The Grove had to negotiate through when it signed leases with some of its big tenants, like Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Old Navy. That was what stopped the Pasco County Tax Collector’s office from opening a new location at the center, and also kept the Pepin Academy charter school from considering some space.

“We had an idea to create this nice little educational court that could’ve been sealed off” from the rest of the complex, Mazzarelli said. “We went to the anchors and did a great deal of negotiating with them, but we couldn’t get the anchors to sign off on it.”

However, those restrictions could change in the near future. Many of the anchor leases are up for renewal, and since some stores would like the chance to upgrade their facilities, that gives The Grove a little bargaining power at the negotiation table.

“In addition to giving the anchors some money so they can refurbish their stores, we are getting a lot of these restrictions relaxed,” Mazzarelli said. “That will have obviously long-term benefits for the center, because the fewer restrictions we have, the more flexibility we will have, and the most success we’ll have in this space.”

Published October 29, 2014

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