Category: News

RADDSports Begins Negotiations With Pasco For Indoor Facility In Wiregrass

raddrender — A computer rendering shows RADDSPORTS’ plans for an indoor sports facility surrounded by a park with fields for outdoor sports like soccer and baseball.

Pasco County has been here before. Can county leaders close the deal this time?

After past failures at luring an athletic complex to the Wesley Chapel area, the county is set to begin negotiations with RADDSPORTS after the Sarasota company was chosen to lead the way to a new indoor sports complex in the Wiregrass Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI).

RADDSPORTS was one of four companies to submit bids to build and operate the proposed complex, and was one of two finalists, along with Sports Facilities Management of Clearwater, to appear and give a presentation before a special selection committee on Sept. 30.

RADDSPORTS beat out Sports Facilities Management, and its Request for Proposal (RFP) was on the consent agenda at the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) meeting on Oct. 11, where it was accepted.

Pasco County staffers have begun the negotiating process with RADDSPORTS and the Porter family, which has donated 120 acres of the land for the Wiregrass Ranch indoor sports complex project.

“It’s exciting to see this move forward,’’ said Pasco commissioner Mike Moore of District 2, which includes the Wiregrass Ranch area. “I think this will be a great project.”

If a deal cannot be finalized with RADDSPORTS, the county could turn back to Sports Facilities Management.

RADDSPORTS is led by Richard Blalock, who was formerly a popular parks and recreation director credited for turning Newberry, FL into a sports tourism hotbed.

RADDSPORTS is partnering with Mainsail Development Group, Inc., which develops resorts and hotels. RADDSPORTS is proposing a $14-million, approximately 100,000-sq.-ft. indoor sports facility with eight basketball courts, plus a 100+ room hotel, an open-air amphitheater with event lawn, sports turf fields for soccer and other sports, trails and playgrounds.

The cost of the hotel would be $15 million, but the deal Pasco County has with the Porter family prohibits a hotel on the site and will need to be negotiated. A 92-room Fairfield Inn & Suites is being built on land sold by the Porters just south of the proposed facility off S.R. 56.

The outdoor amphitheater shell will accommodate 500 to 1,500 attendees for a variety of events such as concerts, festivals and theater performances. RADDSPORTS’ plan projects 36 events per each year’s nine-month season.

A second phase of the project will include baseball, soccer and other outdoor sports fields.

The company also proposed 700kw solar panels for the roof of the facility, which it says will produce 1,075 MwH of power annually, enough to offset current energy prices by $140,000 each year.

Sadly, the county has been here before. There have been three failed attempts since 2001 to build some sort of athletic complex, with proposed tennis, baseball and outdoor complexes somewhere in Wesley Chapel all falling short when none of the deals could be completed.

“I’m optimistic this time,’’ says tourism director Ed Caum, the program manager of Visit Pasco. “I was here for the last two and watched them go by the wayside, but I think there are more players at the table this time. And, we have great support from the (Wesley Chapel) Chamber of Commerce, which is really, really, really helpful.”

The last project to fail was a proposed baseball complex in the same area of Wiregrass Ranch in 2014, when a group led by former Major League Baseball star Gary Sheffield failed to secure financing for the project.

Since then, the county hired Johnson Consulting, which steered the conversation to an indoor facility that could serve not only Wesley Chapel, but would be a draw throughout the entire state, particularly central Florida.

“Here’s the beauty of an indoor facility,” Caum says. “The bottom line is hoteliers in the area have asked the sports commission and tourism folks to find a way to get people into rooms in July, August and September when it’s too hot to do outdoor sports. Indoors, there’s no rain, no lightning, no heat stroke. The stars have aligned. I think it’s the perfect fit for central Florida. All of central Florida is going to benefit from a facility like that.”

‘Making Strides Pasco’ At Wiregrass Tomorrow!

making-stride As the number one cancer killer among women, most adults in Wesley Chapel — and around the nation — have had a close friend or family member who has had and/or succumbed to breast cancer.

But, whether you’ve been touched by this scourge personally or you just want to go for a 5-km (3.1-mile) walk for a good cause, we hope you’ll wake up tomorrow morning — Saturday, October 22 — throw on something pink and head to the American Cancer Society (ACS)’s “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Pasco” walk at the Shops at Wiregrass mall in time for the 8:30 a.m. start.

ACS of the South Nature Coast of Florida (serving Pasco, Hernando & Citrus counties) senior market manager Robyn Liska says the 2015 walk between the Shops and Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel attracted an estimated 5,000 people, including more than 1,250 registered participants on 176 teams and raised more than $175,000.

A week before this year’s event, Liska said there were 116 teams and 724 participants registered that had already raised nearly $60,000, and that figure doesn’t include sponsorship money.

According to the ACS website (Cancer.org), “Making Strides walks are the largest network of breast cancer awareness events in the nation, uniting nearly 300 communities with a shared determination to finish the fight.”

For more info about tomorrow’s walk, visit MakingStridesWalk.org/PascoFL or MakingStridesWalk.org/RealMeanPascoFL. — GN

Pasco Seeking Sponsors To Help Keep DICK’s Lacrosse Tourney Here

lacrosse13 — The Pasco Lions of the WCAA were among the 73 teams to compete in the DICK’s Lacrosse Tournament of Champions last year.

Pasco County will end up writing a $90,000 check to support this year’s 11th Annual DICK’s Sporting Goods Lacrosse Tournament of Champions but, for the first time, county officials are reaching out to the community to help offset those costs and ensure that the popular tournament stays in Wesley Chapel.

Pasco has enlisted the help of the Greater Wesley Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) to find supporters of the event, which provides an estimated $3-million economic impact to the area’s restaurants, hotels and retailers, according to Ed Caum, the program director of Visit Pasco.

“We have (Florida Hospital Center Ice) opening (see page 42) and we will have an indoor sports complex coming, but we only have a finite amount of dollars,’’ says Caum. “We’ve kept the lacrosse tournament here on our own dime. We’re hoping to share that burden (going forward); it just makes more sense because (of how many local businesses benefit).”

The longest-running national tournament of its kind, put on by Colorado-based National Development Program (NDP) Lacrosse, the DICK’s tournament — scheduled every year for Thursday-Saturday, December 29-31— is going on its ninth year of being played at the Wesley Chapel District Park and nearby Wesley Chapel High. It previously was held at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, PA.

Last year’s event attracted 73 teams from 16 different states, including teams from New Tampa and the Wesley Chapel Athletic Association (WCAA) programs, although, in past years, the number of teams has been as high as 115.

The numbers were down 23 teams from 2014, due in part to a nearby lacrosse tournament at Bradenton’s renowned IMG Academy. “We need to win those teams back,’’ Caum says.

Pasco spent $100,000 on the tournament last year, and received $13,000 from the Florida Sports Foundation to help offset costs. Caum says the county is again asking the foundation for assistance.

“If we didn’t spend the tourism money the last 10 years, we would have lost the tournament,’’ he adds.

Last year was the last of a five-year NDP Lacrosse contract with Pasco County, but in May a new two-year deal, with an option for a third year, was announced. According to Hope Allen, the CEO of the WCCC, Pasco had to stave off challenges from other sites hoping to host the event.

“They approached us last year when the contract negotiations came up,” says Allen. “We were approached to step in and not let this amazing tournament leave the area, as there were other locations courting the event to host it. We realize the significant economic impact to a lot of our members, and wanted to see if we were able to help.”

Caum says NDP Lacrosse is adding a number of activities and events to the tournament, and the Holiday Inn Express on S.R. 56 is opening on Nov. 1, which will provide a new option for players and their families to stay closer to the event.

Although there are hotels on S.R. 54 itself that have been utilized in years past, Caum has said that as many as 60 percent of the rooms booked for the event have been in Hillsborough County (many in New Tampa). Wesley Chapel, however, is in the midst of a hotel boom, with plans for a Hyatt Place Wesley Chapel, Fairfield Inn & Suites and Hilton Garden Inn to be completed within the next three years.

“It’s going to make the drive time better for the families, so in that sense, it is very good for us,’’ Caum says. “According to industry (analysts), 15-30 minutes is all people want to drive. So, having hotels closer is excellent for us, not only for the bed tax but also the driving.”

Because so many of the DICK’s tournament participants turn the event into a Florida vacation, the growth in Wesley Chapel makes it imperative that those vacationers stay nearby and spend their money in our area.

“Within two years, that will make a major difference,’’ Caum says.

The success, and staying power, of the DICK’s tournament also plays a significant role in the success of another large, local lacrosse tournament — the Derek Pieper Memorial Cup, which was established in 2006, the year former WCAA player Derek Pieper was murdered.

The tournament is a qualifier for the DICK’s National Championship and drew 55 teams last year. This year’s Derek Pieper tourney is scheduled for the weekend of November 19-20 and will be played at the Wesley Chapel District Park.

For more information about the DICK’S Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions, visit NDPLacrosse.com. To learn more about the Derek Pieper Memorial Cup, visit WCAASPorts.org/derekpieper. For additional information about Pasco County Tourism, visit VisitPasco.com.

Connected City Moving Towards Vote

After more than a year of debate since it was first introduced to local residents last fall, the Connected City project slated for northeast Wesley Chapel has passed its first test and is moving forward.

At the October 13 Pasco Development Review Committee (DRC) meeting in Dade City, concerns over some of the wording in the Connected City’s comprehensive plan were addressed, changed and then approved by a unanimous vote. It was the first vote held for the project, with many others yet to come.

The members of the DRC — comprised of county administrator Michele Baker, assistant county administrators Heather Grimes (internal services), Cathy Pearson (public services) and Flip Mellinger (utility services), vice president of the Pasco Economic Development Council John Walsh and Chris Williams of the Pasco District School Board — were satisfied with the changes made in the Connected City land development code, which proponents say will help expedite construction and eliminate unnecessary and costly delays in building, while attracting industry to the project.

The Connected City project was created by a Growth Management Bill (SB 1216) in 2014, which speeds up the process for creating city-connected corridors. Metro Development Group of Tampa, currently the only developer involved and owners of 30 percent of the land in the grid, is leading the planning for the project.

Pasco County — namely the Wesley Chapel area running north from Overpass Rd. in Wesley Chapel to S.R. 52 in San Antonio, and west from I-75 to Curley Rd. — was selected as a 10-year pilot program, although the build-out of the 7,800 acres is expected to be a 50-year project that could bring 37,000 homes and attract as many as 100,000 new people to the primarily rural (for now) area.

Bigger hurdles still await the Connected City, as the financial, master roadway and utility plans will be presented for approval on Thursday, November 10. Ultimately, the Pasco Board of County Commissioners (BCC) will have the final vote on the project.

The changes in land development code gives additional leeway to developers, but Ernie Monaco, the assistant planning and development administrator for the county, says there will still be oversight from the BCC. Monaco sees the new comprehensive plan revisions as a chance to try new, and possibly more efficient, ways to develop.

“Please keep in mind, this is a pilot program,’’ Monaco told the DRC. “We have the freedom to do things that we can change later. We a have better code that works for the (Connected City), but there are some elements that, if they work, can ultimately be carried over to the (entire) county.”

A key component of the project is an Expedited Greenlight Process, which creates a new process for fast-tracking construction approvals. The county already has an expedited process, but the new one written into the Connected City land development code will have incremental reviews and approvals, which will create timeframes for review that are shorter (due to less information in each increment).

Monaco said the incremental review process would save 4-5 months by allowing developers to begin on multiple portions of their projects that have been approved while waiting on other approvals that might normally need to be secured first.

“We have to experiment,’’ he said. “If it is more efficient and faster, we should consider extending it to the rest of the county.”

The Connected City promises to be an engine for economic and technological development in Wesley Chapel as the first-of-its-kind, built-from-the-ground-up gigabit-internet connected community in the country. There will be an emphasis on alternative transportation and integrated roadways, and the Connected City will feature amenities such as the first-ever man-made crystal lagoon in the U.S.

Part of the project already is under construction. Metro has begun work on a $100-million, 2,000-home residential development called Epperson of Wesley Chapel in the Epperson Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI), as well as a 4,000-home community called Mirada on the former Cannon Ranch property at I-75 and S.R. 52.

There was little public disagreement with any new land codes, but a few Wesley Chapel residents were on hand to express their displeasure with the project in general.

Jennifer McCarthy, who lives on Kenting Rd. in the south central part of the proposed project grid, expressed frustration that the parcel of land she had hoped to live on and ride her horses on for the next 50 years will soon undergo an urban transformation.

McCarthy also voiced her concerns at the Sept. 15 hearing. Other concerns by other residents have been raised in the last year as well, mostly concerning urban sprawl encroaching upon their rural lifestyles, people potentially being forced to sell property that has been in their families for decades, the potential for sinkholes during construction of the 8-acre crystal lagoon and the loss of nature.

The DRC noted that existing residents located within the proposed project overlay don’t have to join the Connected City corridor, but cannot enjoy all of its benefits if they choose not to participate.

Wiregrass Ranch gets relief, GGG gets a zone with proposal

rezoning — These are the new zones proposed for Wesley Chapel for the 2016-17 school year.

Wesley Chapels newest high school is set to open off Old Pasco Rd. next fall. While High School GGG may not have an official name yet, it does now have a proposed zone with a pool of students to draw from in order to fill its hallways.

Wiregrass Ranch and Wesley Chapel high schools, as well as Dr. John Long and Thomas Weightman middle schools, are getting some much needed relief, and Seven Oaks, a vocal community in the process, survived unscathed despite concerns from residents it would be chopped up to achieve the county’s goals.

A third meeting to determine the new schools boundaries was held on Thursday morning in Wesley Chapel Highs media center, with the Pascos School Boundary Committee (SBC) debating 14 options. It swiftly moved through most of the options before option 12 emerged as the choice.

GGG will draw from a swath of homes that line the west side of I-75, extending from north of Old Pasco Rd. all the way down to County Line Rd.

The most congested school in Pasco County is Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH), which currently has 2,495 students (which means it is at 153 percent of its capacity of 1,633), and its primary feeder school, Dr. John Long Middle School (JLMS).

JLMS, with 1,870 students, currently is at 147 percent of its capacity of 1,327. And, both schools are located in the fast-growing Wiregrass Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI), so something had to be done to accommodate an ever-growing number of students.

The option adopted reduces WRH by 782 students, or 31 percent. That leaves it only 80 students over capacity, and would eliminate the need for 10-period schools days, something the school had to resort to beginning in 2015-16 because of overcrowding.

JLMS is reduced by 612 students, or 33 percent, putting it 69 students under capacity.

WCH, which was already over capacity, gains 45 students, and is at 114 percent capacity, while TWM picks up 43 students, and is at 126 percent capacity.

To get to those numbers, WRH and JLMS students currently zoned for those two schools but living in communities on the western edge of the current boundary like Country Walk, Fox Ridge, Meadow Pointe III and IV, Wyndfields and Union Park will now be re-zoned to attend Wesley Chapel High and Weightman Middle.

For some students, such as those living in Meadow Pointe III and Union Park, that means a much longer drive to school, which was considered.

Wesley Chapel principal Hetzler-Nettles and Wiregrass Ranch principal Robyn White say the hardest thing about the process was trying to consider future growth in the plans. An Epperson Ranch development as part of of potential Connected City project could bring major growth to Wesley Chapel, while the Wiregrass Ranch area continues to expand as well.

“You just don’t know,” White said. “It’s hard to look into the future without knowing who will be in all these new locations.”

The SBC, which is made up of staff representatives from every school as well as parents from each and led by the director of planning for the Pasco School District, Chris Williams, will present Option 12 to the public on Tuesday, November 29 (where parents will be in attendance and allowed to weigh in) before the Pasco County School Board can vote to approve them or not.

“I thought it went well,” said Hetzler-Nettles. “I came in thinking one way and ended up choosing an option that wasn’t even on the table in the second meeting.”

Hetzler-Nettles said her only surprise was that it passed unanimously.

Roughly 25 parents were on hand to watch the process, most from Seven Oaks. When Option 20, the last one to recommend re-zoning Seven Oaks, was voted out, a small, collective sigh could be heard.

A group of residents called Seven Oaks Voice submitted a six-page recommendation at the Sept. 29 meeting, and revised it for Thursday’s meeting, hoping to spare their subdivisions which are located east of I-75 and north of S.R. 56 from being broken up.

According to maps provided by the county, 20 percent of the current WRH population, or 509 students, live in Seven Oaks, and 22 percent of JLMS enrollment, or 414 students, live there as well. If the plan is to reduce the student bodies at those schools, an examination of Seven Oaks was unavoidable, and in fact, 10 of the 14 options called for either splitting up the community or re-zoning it for GGG or WCH.

In its proposal, Seven Oaks Voice suggested beginning the rezoning process with communities located west of I-75 (Westbrook Estates, Lexington Oaks, etc.), as well as those east of Meadow Pointe Blvd. (Union Park, Windsor, Country Walk and the Double Branch Elementary zone).

The recommendation said the current Seven Oaks DRI provides stability and wont be a future strain due to limited future growth potential, while the other communities are in high-growth areas. Seven Oaks Voice also suggested that established communities should have priority over newer communities with the same proximity to JLMS and WRH.

Also, by leaving Seven Oaks in its current school zone, the county also can avoid transportation issues, as it claims the subdivision is one of the furthest away from GGG.

The SBC was charged with considering socio-economic balance, maintaining feeder patterns, future growth in certain areas (especially in Wiregrass Ranch), transportation and subdivision integrity before finalizing a proposal.