The Laker/Lutz News

Kissimmee

Gainesville bumps Sunlake from postseason … again

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The rivalry between Sunlake and Land O’ Lakes high schools is obvious because of the close proximity of the two schools. But the Seahawks may have found a new rival in the Gainesville Hurricanes, which for the second year in a row, knocked them out of the state football playoffs.

Gainesville used two quick scores at the start of the game to cement what would become a 27-19 win Friday night in front of its home crowd. That finishes Sunlake’s season at 9-3 with the Class 6A-District 6 title.

Mitchell High School, the 6A-6 runner-up, also lost to Gainesville the previous week, giving the Hurricanes a clean sweep of the district as they ready for a tough regional finals matchup against Armwood High School.

In other games, according to published reports, Sickles fell to Tampa Bay Tech 20-16 in Class 7A, allowing the Titans a chance to face Osceola in the regional finals. That team out of Kissimmee beat Lakeland 35-28 in overtime to get there.

Lakewood topped River Ridge 26-3 in Class 5A action, while Suwannee — which beat Zephyrhills in a come-from-behind win last week — upset South Sumter 24-22.

Sunlake principal Steve Williams live-tweeted the game from his spot in Gainesville, and had nothing but good things to say about the Seahawks as they wrap up a strong season.

Sunlake also got kudos from elected officials as well, including new Pasco County commissioner Mike Moore, and state Rep. Richard Corcoran.

Tuffy, Arby’s properties sell locally

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The end of the year is approaching, meaning it’s time for some commercial landowners to rethink their holdings. So recent sales of property currently occupied by companies like Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Center of Land O’ Lakes and Arby’s in Lutz probably won’t be the last Pasco County sees before Christmas.

3A LLC, the owner of the Tuffy property at 3530 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., sold the half-acre parcel Oct. 28 for $1.7 million to BL Ground Leasing LLC, a company based in Chicago. That’s far more than what 3A originally purchased that lot for in 2006 when it picked up vacant land for $375,000.

3A built the service shop there in 2009.

The “BL” in BL Ground Leasing likely stands for Bernard Leviton, who is listed as the president of the company, according to Florida state corporation records. He shares an address with Metropolitan Rental Corp., out of Chicago, which — according to its website — is a boutique real estate firm that owns apartment buildings around Chicago. The company adds that “all aspects of our business are done under one roof, and open seven days a week.”

The company’s website does not list any property holdings outside of Illinois.

The Tuffy property had originally been owned by David Mayer of Kentucky, who purchased it for $97,000 in 1990, according to property records.

The second land sale toward the end of October involved the Arby’s location at 22820 State Road 54 in Lutz. Olympus BK LLC sold that land for $1.7 million to JLD Realty Inc. and Longwood Realty Corp. of Kissimmee.

Details about this new owner are not clear. Neither JLD Realty nor Longwood Realty is registered with Florida’s corporation division. They are both described as New York companies, with an address at 4730 Oren Brown Road in Kissimmee. That property, according to Osceola County property records, is owned by Diamond Investments Inc., which lists its president as Darryl Diamond of Inglis.

An online social media profile of a Darryl Diamond in the Kissimmee area says he has been a real estate auctioneer for Diamond Investments since 1980, and also spent 25 years as president of Sparkle Motors beginning in 1960. There is a Sparkle Motors location on U.S. 1 in Port Orange.

Olympus BK bought the property in 2003 for $827,500 from The Estate of Tropical King LP of Tampa, which itself purchased the vacant 1-acre parcel in 1995 for $350,000, and built the Arby’s location there a short time later.

It’s not clear if either land purchase will affect the businesses there, but it’s not expected.

Sheffield pitching Wesley Chapel to the Atlanta Braves

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The Atlanta Braves aren’t making a trip to the postseason this year, but could they instead be planning a trip to Pasco County in a few years? Like for spring training?

Retired Major League Baseball player Gary Sheffield, left, listens as Blue Marble Strategies owner John Talton shares his vision of a new 20-field baseball complex in Wesley Chapel's Wiregrass Ranch area. (Photo by Michael Hinman)
Retired Major League Baseball player Gary Sheffield, left, listens as Blue Marble Strategies owner James Talton shares his vision of a new 20-field baseball complex in Wesley Chapel’s Wiregrass Ranch area. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

Gary Sheffield, the retired Major League Baseball star who hit 64 home runs when he played two seasons for the Braves more than a decade ago, believes his old team will come. And if not them, maybe the Houston Astros or Toronto Blue Jays — both which have expressed interest in looking for new spring training homes — instead.

Regardless, the former outfielder says the proposed $70 million baseball complex planned on 100 acres in the Wiregrass Ranch area will be so attractive, it would be impossible for any Major League team to turn it down.

“They don’t want to be second to Disney,” Sheffield told a group of business leaders recently at a Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce economic development meeting. “The problem they are having is that the fans coming to the games there are not Braves fans. They are there for Disney, and that is a problem for them.”

The Braves have played spring training at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex near Disney World in Orlando since 1998, but have been unofficially considering other options in recent months since their lease there is set to expire in 2017.

Wesley Chapel could be perfect for the team, Sheffield says, since many might consider the Interstate 75 trip between there and Atlanta a straight shot. It also makes sense as a second home for the team without making it inconvenient for its fan base.

“That is an easy commute for them,” Sheffield said. “All those fans could come straight here, plus go to other places like Disney and Clearwater Beach, since they would be close by. That is a possibility that is pretty much there for the taking.”

The sports complex was proposed by James Talton, owner of Blue Marble Strategic, and would supply 20 baseball and multipurpose athletic fields, as well as dormitories for players and other amenities. It’s a way to tap into the lucrative youth baseball market, he said.

Talton is raising $54 million in private funding, and looking for $11 million from Pasco County tourist tax money, to make such a project a reality.

Even without a major stadium component, Talton feels his sports complex could play a role in creating 8,000 jobs in the county, and produce $318 million in annual economic impact, as well as a direct revenue stream of $9 million each year to the county government. But if the project could attract a Major League team, there’s no telling how big of an impact that would have in the Wesley Chapel area, Talton said.

Creating a separate field for spring training would not be anywhere near the headache the Tampa Bay Rays are experiencing with its efforts to get out of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. In fact, spring training fields are typically much smaller than regular season venues, Talton said, where average attendance usually holds around 6,700.

“We would want to put in up to 12,000 seats, but that could be a little ambitious,” he said. “A lot of what we hear from the league is that they want to have no more than 8,000 seats, because they want to make sure they are filled.”

Yet, just from his own youth baseball operations, Talton believes he can fill 3,000 of those seats with his players and families that might be using the rest of the facility during spring training time. He wants to be open for business by January 2017, which would be just ahead of when the Braves’ lease with Disney expires.

But are the Braves even looking to stay in this part of the state? Braves president John Schuerholz told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in March that staying in Central Florida could be tough.

Many teams that used to participate in spring training are looking for other parts of the state, especially south, and it could be tough for Atlanta to travel around if its only nearby opponent is the Detroit Tigers in Lakeland.

The Braves want to stay in Florida, however, and have waved off any suggestions the team could move to the other popular spring training state of Arizona. But if the Astros move out of Kissimmee, and the Washington Nationals leave their home in Viera, that could leave the Atlanta team rather isolated in Lake Buena Vista.

Yet moving to Wesley Chapel could be a good move in that respect. The Tigers would still be available in Lakeland, joining five other teams in quick driving distance — the New York Yankees in Tampa, the Blue Jays in Dunedin, the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater, the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton, and the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota.

The Braves also would be a lot closer to the Tampa Bay Rays, who play its spring training games in Port Charlotte.

A request to the Braves for comment is still pending.

Sheffield, who was born and raised in Tampa, says he has been spending a lot of time in Pasco County, especially since his kids are members of the Pasco Predators youth athletic teams. Once tourists start discovering the area, they won’t be able to stay away.

“There is something about Tampa and Pasco County,” he said. “People can’t leave. They can’t leave the water, or the beautiful places here. It’s totally community-driven.”

Centennial Bank parent acquires Florida Traditions

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Home BancShares Inc., the parent company of Centennial Bank, has finalized its acquisition of Florida Traditions Bank, and its branches located in eastern Pasco and Hillsborough counties, among other places.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but previous published reports put the sale at $43 million in stock. The combined Centennial Bank will now boast $7 billion in total assets, and $5.5 billion in total deposits in nearly 150 branches in Florida, Arkansas and Alabama.

Bud Stalnaker, the chief executive of Florida Traditions, will stay on with the new Centennial as division president for Central Florida.

“We are equally excited about the opportunities this acquisition provides our customers and employees,” Stalnaker said, in a release. “Joining Centennial not only enhances our service capabilities, but also allows our focus to remain on outstanding community banking.”

Florida Traditions was founded in 2007 by a group of East Pasco County business owners who saw a need for a locally owned and locally managed bank, according to the company’s website. It had eight branches in Zephyrhills, Dade City, Spring Hill, Winter Haven, Lakeland, Plant City, Kissimmee and St. Cloud.

Home BancShares, based in Conway, Arkansas, recorded a profit of $27.3 million in the first quarter through March 31, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Sunlake’s Smith Earns State Coaching Honor

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Sunlake weightlifting coach Matt Smith has developed the Seahawks into one of the premier boys lifting programs in Tampa Bay.

Smith’s squad, which has won four straight Sunshine Athletic Conference titles, finished in fifth-place in Class 2A state weightlifting competition last season.

This year, Sunlake has seniors Jack Holloway, Eddie Burgos and Raymond Busbee competing in states April 19 and 20 at the Kissimmee Civic Center.

Smith’s success was recognized earlier this season when he was named National Federation of State High School Associations 2012 Florida Coach of the Year.

“Coach Smith is a blessing,” said Seahawks athletic director Russ Schenk. “He’s really turned some kids around. He has great rapport, and does a great job for the kids and Sunlake High School.”

 

Matt-Smith
Sunlake coach Matt Smith was recently named the National Federation of State High School Associations 2012 Florida Coach of the Year. (File photo)

Smith was Hernando’s football coach for three years and spent 11 seasons as the school’s wrestling coach before joining the staff at Sunlake when the school opened in 2007.

“It’s a great honor anytime you receive an award like that,” Smith said about the NFSHA recognition. “It shows the amount of work the kids put in. … A lot of things play a factor (in the program’s success). The entire football staff works out, and that sets an example.”

Weightlifting has been a part of Smith’s life going back to his days as a student at Springstead, where he lifted and played guard on the football team.

“I’ve been involved with weights for 25 years,” Smith said. “I think weightlifting teaches a lot of self-confidence and self-esteem.”

Self-confidence served Smith well after he was seriously injured in an accident in high school.

“I had a bad motorcycle accident my junior year right after football season,” Smith said. “I spent 56 days in the hospital with a broken arm and leg.”

Smith came back from the injury and resumed lifting and playing football his senior year. He went on to Culver Stockton College in Canton, Mo. where he was a nose guard.

The Sunlake lifting program is filled with football players, but there is growing interest among all students.

“We had 51 lifters this year. That’s the most I’ve ever had, and all of them got at least one meet. I was happy to build a program when I came here. Other schools have a hard time getting a full lineup,” said Smith, who is also the defensive coordinator and offensive line coach for the Seahawks football team.

“There are a few things I try to do,” Smith added. “I have a good approach with my workout plan, and I jump in there and demonstrate to them. We pretty much do a full-body workout. Competing against the coaches is a big motivation. It’s a fun environment.”

Holloway, who competes in the 129-pound class, credits Smith for getting him involved with lifting as a freshman.

“I had a weightlifting class in P.E., and I liked it; it drew me in,” Holloway said. “Coach Smith pretty much will do anything for us. He definitely works us, but he’s a really good guy.”

Burgos was a running back and Busbee a linebacker on the football team. Burgos lifts in the 183-pound and Busbee in the 238-pound class.

“I got thrown into lifting competition last year, and I liked it,” Burgos said. “People think lifting is an individual sport, but everybody has to push each other to the max. … Coach Smith works on technique and pushes us from the bench. He’s a real good coach that doesn’t yell. He tells us calmly what to work on.”

Sunlake graduates 14 lifters, but Smith said his squad will be competitive as ever next season as his 22 freshmen develop.

“We graduated 15 kids off of last year’s team,” Smith said. “I try to get so many freshmen to come out. I have many of my lighter kids in class, and they have potential to be strong. … Jack weighed 106 pounds when he was a freshman, and I encouraged him to come out. He moved up in weight, and now has a good shot to be on the podium at the state finals this year.”

Smith credits football with creating much of the growth in weightlifting.

“I believe we got started because every football coach wants to prevent injuries and make their team stronger,” Smith said. “It’s a big part of the way we coach at Sunlake. I encourage the kids and try to keep them motivated. I’m proud of them and want them to improve as athletes and students.”