Pasco County commissioners are in a quandary about the fate of the proposed Wiregrass Sports Park. Should they try again to work a deal for a world-class sports complex or build a district park for local sports teams?
Commissioners voted 4-1 on March 10 to take a wait-and-see approach with a feasibility study that will gauge the market for a sports complex with the potential to draw national tournaments, and yield millions in tourism tax dollars.
(File Photo)
The results also could show that the county’s money is better spent on a park that caters to local sports teams.
The study is intended to give county officials, residents and potential park operators an idea of what will work at the park site, located near Bruce B. Downs Boulevard off State Road 56.
“We think we’ll get the ability to expedite (the process) because people will understand it better, and we think the quality of applications will improve,” said Richard Gehring, the county’s planning and development administrator.
Johnson Consulting Inc., a sports consulting firm with national and international clients, will be paid $35,000 for the study, expected to take less than 12 weeks.
The study will include marketing and needs assessments as well as recommendations on development costs, operating and financial responsibilities, and funding options.
“I think it’s time to move forward,” said Commissioner Mike Moore. “It’s a positive. People in my district want to see it sooner rather than later.”
Commissioner Jack Mariano voted against the study. Instead of spending money on a study, he said county officials should explore why the deal with Pasco Sports LLC to build a multimillion-dollar sports complex fell apart.
“I’d like to find out why he (Gary Sheffield) didn’t like the contract,” Mariano said. “We could look at that first.”
In December, commissioners dropped plans to partner with Pasco Sports to build a sports complex on 100 acres near The Shops at Wiregrass regional shopping mall. The land is part of more than 200 acres donated to the county by the Porter family.
Partners James Talton and former major league baseball player Gary Sheffield had proposed to build 20 ball fields and dormitories on the site. They had envisioned a youth baseball camp that would attract national tournaments and deliver more than $300 million annually in economic impact to the county.
According to the agreement, the county would commit between $11 million and $14 million in tourism dollars to the project. But Talton and Sheffield let a deadline pass without delivering on a pledge to provide $3 million for the complex’s design.
Other projects, both rumored and real, are competing with the proposed sports complex.
Z Mitch LLC had a groundbreaking in February for a major ice hockey and sports complex off Interstate 75 at the State Road interchange in Wesley Chapel. The facility is expected to open in fall 2015 with four full-size rinks. But the 150,000-square-foot facility will accommodate a wide range of sports including soccer, lacrosse and basketball.
Rumors also persist that Hillsborough County may be in line for a new sports facility.
Most Pasco commissioners agreed the feasibility study would be a valuable tool in sorting out the county’s options.
“It will either validate or invalidate the marketing of the complex and what’s needed in this area,” said Chairman Ted Schrader. “It will give us the confidence to go forward with some sort of park project.”
Published March 18, 2015
