Pasco BCC Approves New Sports Campus Operator!

The Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) voted 4-1 to approve Clearwater-based Sports Facilities Companies (SFC) as the new management company to operate the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus (WRSC), which has been managed by Pasco’s Parks & Recreation Dept. since the county agreed to buy out the contract of WRSC’s previous operator (RADDSports) in June of 2023.

Under the newly approved agreement with SFC, which manages 90 sports facilities throughout the U.S., the county will pay SFC $750,000 — an initial financial commitment of $500,000, which Florida’s Sports Coast’s deputy director of tourism Consuelo Sanchez called “bridge funding to offset potential revenue shortfalls,” plus a “Management fee” of $18,000 per month “paid of the Operating Account (account managed by SFC, which serves as the central fund to collect facility revenue and disburse expenses) and “Up to $250,000 for Facility Floor Resurfacing Reimbursement,” since the Sports Campus’ “gym floors have never been resurfaced since the facility opening in 2020. This necessary upgrade must be completed regardless of facility management to ensure athlete safety, event eligibility and competitive standards.” 

District 5 Pasco Commissioner Jack Mariano raised the question of whether or not SFC was planning to provide additional parking for the Sports Campus, which already has a huge lack of proper available parking, even though nothing in the agreement the commissioners approved mentions parking. Sanchez, however, said that SFC does plan to conduct a parking feasibility study “which they have six months to complete.” SFC founding partner Eric Sullivan, who also appeared at the meeting, confirmed that SFC is planning to conduct the study and noted, “That we know additional parking is needed at the facility.” Pasco Parks & Rec Dept. director Keith Wiley said that it appears that the only available space for more parking at the facility is located north of the 98,000-sq.-ft. indoor gym, which already is north of the five outdoor fields. 

The resolution passed 4-1, with Mariano’s the only “Nay” vote because of the parking concerns.

Wiregrass Ranch developer JD Porter, who attended the meeting, but was not asked to speak, told the Neighborhood News after the meeting, “We are very pleased with the approval by the Board of the outside operator. From our conversations and research, they [SFC] seem more than capable of running the facility as the donation agreement outlines as an upper echelon sports tourism facility. We look forward to [SFC] raising the bar of the tournaments and tax dollars brought into Pasco County.”

More details of the new management agreement will be provided in the July 8 edition of Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News.

Sushi Masa Premium Is Open In Former Red Lobster Location In Tampa Palms!

Photos by Charmaine George
Sushi Masa in Tampa Palms has a huge variety of Japanese cuisine, including a sashimi variety display (bottom photo), chicken & Steak teriyaki, fried rice & Udon or Soba noodles (above), tempura cheesecake (below left), assorted sushi rolls & gyoza (below left). All Items on this page, except the sashimi display, are included on the all-you-can eat dinner for $36.95 or lunch for $23.95.

Congratulations to owner Ryan Chen and his team (photo below) for finally opening the beautiful new Sushi Masa Premium in the former Red Lobster location (at 17021 Palm Pointe Dr.) in Tampa Palms. Jannah, photographer Charmaine George and her friend Austin and I got to sample pretty much everything on Sushi Masa’s all-you-can-eat (AYCE) menu (for $36.95 for dinner, $23.95 for lunch) the day before it opened and we agreed that the sushi rolls (maki), sashimi (no rice) and nigiri (sashimi on rice) were all fresh and delicious — especially the tuna and yellowtail options. The appetizers, like the assorted tempura (not shown) and gyoza dumplings (below) were excellent and the Udon and Soba noodles (we all preferred the latter), the fried rice and chicken and steak teriyaki were all pretty tasty, too. And, save room for dessert (also included) — the tempura cheesecake, fried Oreos and green tea ice cream were all delish.

The only items not included on the AYCE menu are the hibachi/teppanyaki entrées — veggie, chicken, salmon, steak & shrimp, plus combos —  and the alcoholic beverages at the spacious bar, but Ryan, who also owns the Lakeland location (there are now ten total) is off to a great start! Love the fast service, too! For more info, call (813) 252-9302 or visit SushiMasaUS.com. — GN   

(L.-r.) Sushi Masa assistant manager Trinity Carmenaty, kitchen manager Camila Cortes, owner Ryan Chen, & general manager Juliet Ebanks

The Wexford Irish Pub Moving Into Former Forty Thieves Location!

For those who were sad to see Forty Thieves Irish Pub, located at 2741 E. County Line Rd. (at Livingston Blvd.) in Lutz, suddenly close, the good news is that another familiar name — The Wexford Irish Pub & Grille — is preparing to move into that former Forty Thieves location. Mark Birkin, the owner of the new Remington’s Steak & Seafood in the Palms Connection plaza at 2836 E. Bearss Ave., says that he and his crew are working hard to re-open The Wexford, which is the Irish Pub that the new Remington’s replaced, at the former Forty Thieves location. Birkin, who also owns the upscale Birkin’s Steak & Sushi at 16411 N. Florida Ave. in Lutz, says that he doesn’t know at present when The Wexford will open in its new location, but we’ll provide updates for you as soon as we have them.

Jimmy John’s Hosts A North Tampa Bay Chamber Ribbon-Cutting 

Although this second Wesley Chapel location (at 5478 Post Oak Blvd., off Wesley Chapel Blvd.) has been open for more than six months, Jimmy John’s hosted a North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting event on May 20 to introduce Chamber members to this location, the sandwich chain’s “Freaky Fast” service and, of course, new “Freaky Fresh” toasted sandwich items like the chicken bacon ranch, Ultimate Italian and roast beef & cheddar subs. 

Jimmy John’s franchise owner Eric Edmonds said he was “excited to engage with the local community” at his location and he told the Chamber members in attendance that he is planning to open some additional Jimmy John’s locations, including one at nearby St. Leo University. 

Of course, Eric’s Jimmy John’s is one of more than 2,600 nationwide (including 140+ in Florida). The Jimmy John’s parent company was purchased in 2019 by Atlanta-based Inspire Brands, which also owns Arby’s, Sonic and Buffalo Wild Wings. 

For more info, call (813) 991-7700 or visit JimmyJohns.com. — GN 

Our Return To St. Pete Beach — Still Recovering As The 2025 Hurricane Season Begins 

St. Pete Beach has been an important part of mine and Jannah’s relationship since we first started dating ten years ago. It’s where we were married six years ago and where have spent some of the most magical times of our lives — with the most beautiful sunsets, the greatest live music and some of the most delicious meals we’ve ever enjoyed together. 

But, as pretty much everyone knows, all of the Gulf beaches from Clearwater south to St. Pete were devastated by last year’s trio of major hurricanes, especially Hurricane Helene, which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in the Big Bend region of Florida on Sept. 26 of last year. That was only six weeks after Hurricane Debby brought record flooding, also to the Big Bend area, despite “only” hitting as a Cat 1, because the storm stalled along the Gulf coast of our state. Helene was followed less than two weeks later by Cat 3 Hurricane Milton, which did as much damage to inland areas as it did to the coast. 

But, Helene — which hit roughly 35 weeks before the 2025 Memorial Day weekend, when Jannah and I finally returned to St. Pete Beach — did the most damage of the three storms to Pinellas County’s beloved beaches. 

That means its been eight eight+ long, difficult months for the hotels, restaurants and merchants in those Gulf Coast communities, so even though we’d seen and read news reports about how difficult it’s been for those areas to fully recover, we (wrongfully) assumed things had to have gotten back almost to normal by now. Um, no. A thousand times no. 

During our visit, we drove from Pass-A-Grille Beach, at the southern tip of the strip, almost to the Sand Key Bridge just south of Clearwater and, even though the weather was beautiful and there were still plenty of great places open for business, what we found saddened us to our cores. 

Don Cesar construction
A favorite breakfast place, The Frog Pond, closed.

Pass-A-Grille seemed mostly intact, but the fabled Don Cesar Hotel had only recently reopened and still was not fully restored to its former glory. 

Still closed were many of our local favorite St. Pete Beach haunts like the Bellwether Beach (formerly the Plaza Grand) Hotel, home to the popular rotating Level 11 rooftop bar and Spinners restaurant. Even the Beachcomber Resort, home to our favorite live music spot Jimmy B’s, was still shuttered. Popular restaurants like The Frog Pond and further south to Caddys on the Beach (photos) also were still shut down, although the owners of Caddys at least had a tented bar, food trucks and picnic tables on-site so those enjoying the live music at Ka’Tiki across the street could come out to take in the still-breathtaking sunsets. 

Sunset at Caddy’s
The Spazmatics were great at Ka’Tiki, across from Caddy’s.

We continued north through Treasure Island, where the fabled Thunderbird Beach Resort, which opened in 1957 and had survived many hurricanes and tropical storms, had never reopened since Helene and was getting ready to be demolished. 

We then headed to John’s Pass, which was mostly reopened, although our bartender at the Pirates Pub & Grub told us that all of the first-floor businesses on the boardwalk had 5-7 ft. of water inside them and had to be completely renovated for weeks and even months, while the second floor restaurants and shops were pretty much still OK. 

California Roll from the 82 Degrees restaurant at Tge Saint hotel
Pasta with Grilled Chicken from the 82 Degrees restaurant at Tge Saint hotel
This grouper bites appetizer at Chill Restaurant & Bar on Corey Ave. was the highlight of our stay.

Continuing north of John’s Pass, through Madeira Beach, the Redingtons, Indian Shores, Indian Rocks and Bellaire, where it has always been less crowded, also was chilling. Those areas seemed even emptier than usual. And yes, I realize that Sand Key, Clearwater Beach and Dunedin, forming the more northern, but equally touristy, part of the Pinellas strip, are all also still suffering, even though we didn’t drive that far during this visit. 

And again, our stay was the better part of a year after all of this devastation, so it was hard not to have a queasy feeling about what might be in store for our favorite beach communities this year, as the 2025 Hurricane Season began the day (June 1) that I wrote this story. 

All I can say is that until we get word that our amazing beaches are again in the projected track of a storm, Jannah and I plan to return to — and pray for — St. Pete Beach as often as we can.