• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About Us
  • Videos
    • Featured Video
    • Foodie Friday
    • Monthly ReCap
  • Online E-Editions
    • This Week’s E-Editions
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
  • Social Media
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
  • Advertising
  • Local Jobs
  • Puzzles & Games
  • Circulation Request

The Laker/Lutz News

  • Home
  • News
    • Land O’ Lakes
    • Lutz
    • Wesley Chapel/New Tampa
    • Zephyrhills/East Pasco
    • Business Digest
    • Senior Parks
    • Nature Notes
    • Featured Stories
    • Photos of the Week
    • Reasons To Smile
  • Sports
    • Land O’ Lakes
    • Lutz
    • Wesley Chapel/New Tampa
    • Zephyrhills and East Pasco
    • Check This Out
  • Education
  • Pets/Wildlife
  • Health
    • Health Events
    • Health News
  • What’s Happening
  • Sponsored Content
    • Closer Look
  • Homes
  • Obits
  • Public Notices

Amateur Athletic Union Florida West Coast Karate Championships

Florida’s Sports Coast seeks rebound from COVID-19

April 21, 2020 By Kevin Weiss

The months of March and April historically yield the highest tourist development tax revenues seen all year in Pasco County, tourism officials say.

And, Experience Florida’s Sports Coast, the county’s tourism arm, was expecting another sunny spring — further buoyed by neighbor Tampa hosting WrestleMania and the NCAA March Madness college basketball tournament, among other nationwide sports attractions.

The $44 million, 98,000-square-foot Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County is still on track for opening this summer, and hosting a slew of multi-purpose sporting events beginning this fall. (File)

Then coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) delivered a lethal blow — coincidently around the time county tourism leaders were set to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Florida’s Sports Coast rebrand.

“This couldn’t have come at a worse time for us,” Florida’s Sports Coast tourism director Adam Thomas told The Laker/Lutz News. “We had new promotions to celebrate and really promote, and really, our balloon got shot down.”

The pandemic didn’t just rain on the tourism agency’s birthday parade. It also forced the postponement or cancellation of at least nine sporting events.

They include:

  • Amateur Athletic Union Florida West Coast Karate Championships in Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School in Spring Hill
  • Savage Race and Savage Blitz extreme mud and obstacle course races in Dade City
  • Gran Fondo Florida bicycle race in San Antonio
  • USA Hockey Adult Men’s and Women’s National Championships at AdventHealth Center Ice in Wesley Chapel
  • Florida Premier Football Club Spring Showcase at fields in Land O’ Lakes, Odessa and New Port Richey
  • Caliente Dare to Bare 5K in Land O’ Lakes
  • Amateur Junior Golf Association qualifier event at Saddlebrook Golf Club in Wesley Chapel
  • Sunshine State Games Figure Skating Championships at AdventHealth Center Ice in Wesley Chapel

But, Florida’s Sports Coast officials aren’t throwing in the towel just yet, even as hotel room nights and economic impact losses pile up.

Thomas said his office is working with the various events rightsholders and decisionmakers in hopes to reschedule many of those postponed events sometime later this year, once travel bans and stay-at-home orders are lifted.

“All we can do is keep those conversations going and keep a positive dialogue with each rightsholder but, at the end of the day, it’s up to them,” the tourism director said.

Meantime, Florida’s Sports Coast officials anticipate a strong rebound from mid-summer onward — as a slew of new sports and recreation facilities are set to come online.

Experience Florida’s Sports Coast, Pasco County’s tourism arm, is banking on a strong rebound, despite cancellations resulting from the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Among the most ballyhooed is the $44 million, 98,000-square-foot Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County in Wesley Chapel, which is eyeing a July opening. The indoor multi-purpose sports complex is on track to host eight different events in the fall, beginning with a September volleyball tournament.

Thomas called the facility “the big highlight of our summer,” also noting the venue scored a “major, major event” in basketball for 2021.

The county also expects to reap the benefits of the $4.9 million Sarah Vande Berg Tennis & Wellbeing Center, set to open late summer. The facility figures to have a global reach and play host to large United States Tennis Association-level tournaments. “It’s a little nugget in our back pocket,” Thomas said.

Moreover, Snowcat Ridge, promoted as the state’s first alpine snow park, is still believed to be on track for a November opening in Dade City.

Florida’s Sports Coast communications manager Kolby Kuyck Gayson said that project is integral to the agency’s recovery plan, “because it’s a brand new attraction and it’s going to be hitting right at the time where we’re expecting people to finally be comfortable really getting out there and traveling.”

The tourism office has other reasons for guarded optimism, too.

The 10-daylong Tohrs2Hot4Ice roller derby national championships remains a go for late June and early July at AdventHealth Center Ice. The event could generate as many as 2,000 room nights and an economic impact north of $4 million, Thomas said.

Florida’s Sports Coast also is doubling down on promoting leisure activities, such as a 10-day bay scallop season along the Anclote River, which hopes to draw families within a 350-mile driving radius across Florida, south Georgia and so on.

Elsewhere, the tourism office is pushing to solicit more business meetings and corporate retreats to county hotels through the end of the year.

Pasco had a record year for tourism  in 2019 — hitting the million-visitor mark for the first time ever.

Per tourism office reports, 1,038,700 million visitors generated 1,217,021 room nights in paid accommodations between October 2018 and September 2019. The county’s annual bed tax collections surpassed $3 million for the first time, in that span.

Thomas acknowledged those numbers will be down across the board this year, but added fiscal year 2021 should be “a banner year” from an increased demand for vacations and visitations.

Thomas observed, “This is kind of an anomaly we’re dealing with, not just Pasco, but the entire global tourism marketplace is dealing with the same issue. The demand (for vacations) is at an all-time low now. A year from now, the demand is going to be at an all-time high. …There is a light at the end of the tunnel, there is a brighter day ahead of us.”

Published April 22, 2020

Primary Sidebar

A Conversation with Lutz Filmmaker, Alexis Yahre

Search

Sponsored Content

A Guide for Summer Camps in Pasco County 

May 23, 2022 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Summer break is quickly approaching and organizations throughout Pasco County are offering camps for children of all … [Read More...] about A Guide for Summer Camps in Pasco County 

Avalon Applauds Kids Helping Kids Pasco County 

May 10, 2022 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Congratulations to Kids Helping Kids Pasco County for being applauded by Avalon Park Wesley Chapel. The nonprofit … [Read More...] about Avalon Applauds Kids Helping Kids Pasco County 

More Posts from this Category

What’s Happening

05/26/2022 – Food distribution

Farm Share, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, Pasco Sheriff Charities, the Pasco County NAACP, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay will partner for a free food distribution on May 26 starting at 9 a.m., at the Boys & Girls Club of Lacoochee, 38724 Mudcat Grant Blvd., in Dade City. Food will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last. The event is a drive-thru, rain or shine. … [Read More...] about 05/26/2022 – Food distribution

05/28/2022 – Memorial Day Concert

The “Let’s Do Good Memorial Day Concert” is scheduled for May 28 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Land O’ Lakes Heritage Park, 5401 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., to benefit the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Tunnel to Towers provides mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children, and builds custom-designed smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. The foundation is committed to eradicating veteran homelessness and aiding the victims of major U.S. disasters. The event will include vendors, gifts, a Forget-Me-Not Garden, and more. Entertainment will be provided by Fred Chandler, Charles Goodwin, Cruz Er Mac, Mike Henderson, and Travis White. Special guests include Congressman Gus Bilirakis and State Sen. Danny Burgess. Rain date is Sept. 10. … [Read More...] about 05/28/2022 – Memorial Day Concert

05/28/2022 – Seafood Festival-CANCELLED

The North Tampa Bay Chamber’s Summer Seafood Festival is scheduled for May 28 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., at the Tampa Premium Outlets, 2300 Grand Cypress Drive in Lutz, between the outlets and At Home. There will be seafood, crab races, a kids zone, live bands, craft beer, a local market, a Nautical Art Show, and a crab claw-eating contest. For information, call 727-674-1464. … [Read More...] about 05/28/2022 – Seafood Festival-CANCELLED

06/04/2022 – D-Day reenactment

The Zephyrhills Museum of Military History, 39444 South Ave., in Zephyrhills, will present “D-Day, Invasion of Normandy” on June 4 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be an opening ceremony at 11 a.m. The event will include skydivers, reenactors, World War II veterans, and WWII vehicles/aircraft on display. Visit zmmh.org/events, for additional information. … [Read More...] about 06/04/2022 – D-Day reenactment

06/11/2022 – Community cleanup

Save the date: A Dade City Community Cleanup is scheduled for June 11 from 8 a.m. to noon. The city will provide two garbage trucks and one roll-off to dispose of household waste. Residents will be able to drop off unwanted items at three locations. Volunteers also are needed and can register online at DadeCityFl.com. More information will be forthcoming. … [Read More...] about 06/11/2022 – Community cleanup

06/13/2022 – Vacation Bible School

The Church at Myrtle Lake, 2017 Riegler Road in Land O’ Lakes, will host the Spark Studios Vacation Bible School from June 13 to June 17 from 9 a.m. to noon. The event is free for children of age who have completed kindergarten through sixth grade. Registration is open online at MyrtleLake.org. For information, call 813-949-5516. … [Read More...] about 06/13/2022 – Vacation Bible School

More of What's Happening

Follow us on Twitter

The Laker/Lutz NewsFollow

Home for all your local news in Land O' Lakes, Lutz, New Tampa, Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills and Dade City.

The Laker/Lutz News
LakerLutzNewsThe Laker/Lutz News@LakerLutzNews·
22 May

SUNDAY MORNING SPORTS: Wyatt Deaton, 11, of Wesley Chapel, swam 2 miles and raised $5,900 for charity at the Swim Across America fundraising event. Great picture @MikeCamunas! Full story ---> https://buff.ly/3lktCIv

Reply on Twitter 1528367595258265600Retweet on Twitter 15283675952582656001Like on Twitter 15283675952582656001Twitter 1528367595258265600
LakerLutzNewsThe Laker/Lutz News@LakerLutzNews·
21 May

Go Pasco — Pasco County’s public bus service — is planning to use technology to enable riders to get up-to-date information to track buses in real time https://buff.ly/3aafXS6

Reply on Twitter 1528073180073574404Retweet on Twitter 1528073180073574404Like on Twitter 15280731800735744042Twitter 1528073180073574404
LakerLutzNewsThe Laker/Lutz News@LakerLutzNews·
21 May

What an AMAZING transformation! 💫 The Block is housed in a historic building that was an auto dealership in the 1920s. Now, its a venue space, a brewhouse, a restaurant, a CrossFit gym and more ---> https://buff.ly/3PsLvTo

3
Reply on Twitter 1528027975391772673Retweet on Twitter 15280279753917726731Like on Twitter 15280279753917726731Twitter 1528027975391772673
Load More...

Archives

 

 

Where to pick up The Laker and Lutz News

Copyright © 2022 Community News Publications Inc.

    Doc