Saddlebrook Resort Is Reborn As Mast Capital Begins Unveiling $92M Investment

Photos by Charmaine George

Whenever I hear a number like $92 million being thrown around, especially to completely redesign a clearly dated resort like Saddlebrook — which had been the jewel of Wesley Chapel since the early 1980s (and the only “attractor” bringing people to the S.R. 54 Exit 279 off I-75) for more than three decades — I know what I was picturing (and hoping for) in my head. Even so, I had no idea what to really expect from new owner Mast Capital. 

But, now that I have attended the “Media Preview Day” for the fully revamped Saddlebrook Resort on Nov. 20, it’s obvious that Mast is putting every penny of that $92 million into bringing resort founder Tom Dempsey’s Saddlebrook back to its old glory. Knowing Mr. Dempsey as I did, I’m a little sad he’s not still here to see it reborn. 

I’ve already been telling you about the restaurants that are both already open and coming soon — the delicious RARE 1981, which is located in the space previously occupied by The Tropics off Saddlebrook’s beautifully reimagined lobby (left photo), the also-open BREW coffee and breakfast counter, the opening soon (in early 2026) sports bar in the former Dempsey’s Too space adjacent to RARE 1981, and the hotly anticipated (at least by yours truly) revamped pool bar at the resort’s fabled Super Pool. 

When I rented a condo in the Saddlebrook community (not in the resort itself) when I first moved to Florida with my family in 1993, that pool bar served the best grilled hamburgers and hot dogs in town. It also had a nice, full-liquor tiki bar that was a great place to have a drink as my kids played in the Super Pool. Well, the pool bar is all-new and now open (photo, below right), and will have an upgraded food menu from the “good old days.” The “lagoon-style” Super Pool itself and especially, the patio around it (left photo below), also has been completely revamped, with dozens of umbrellas and a number of beautiful cabanas that will make hanging by the Super Pool a pleasure once again. 

But, for those who are wondering what’s happening with the building that previously was home to Dempsey’s Steak House, it is being completely repurposed as a clubhouse for Saddlebrook’s members that will be unveiled in 2026. 

As we’ve mentioned in multiple previous stories, the resort’s twin 18-hole, Arnold Palmer-designed Saddlebrook and Palmer golf courses have been replaced by three 9-hole courses and an on-site golf driving range and practice area, which will make getting ready to play a lot more convenient than the driving range’s old location near the resort’s S.R. 54 entrance. 

I haven’t played (and most likely won’t ever play) any of the golf holes, but District 5 Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano (who was on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Nov. 20, as was District 2 Commissioner Seth Weightman) has played all 18 of the holes that are already open and he praised the golf course’s redesign during the ribbon-cutting ceremony (see top photo). 

Commissioner Mariano also participated in a pickleball clinic (he’s shown returning the ball in the photo below), which allowed Media Day participants to check out the eight gorgeous new pickleball courts for themselves. 

The Media Preview began with the aforementioned ribbon-cutting ceremony and was led by Saddlebrook’s managing director Jeff Mayers, who thanked Mast Capital for its huge investment to bring the resort back to life, before introducing Commissioner Weightman, who said “The round of applause really has to go out to Mast Capital. The names Saddlebrook Resort and Pasco County go together — they’re synonymous. Saddlebrook put Pasco on the map before it became the popular place it is today. I couldn’t be more excited to be a small part of the journey to help bring Saddlebrook back to life.” 

He then introduced Commissioner Mariano, who said, “I am so thrilled with what Mast Capital has done. I was concerned about whether or not the golf course would be long enough, but they brought in Rees Jones, who specializes in renovations, and this is now a great golf course. You can now host any type of golfers at any level and have a great tournament. And what you’ve done with the lobby…spectacular, right? The pool? Incredible. Every chair is now a great place to sit, with all those umbrellas. It’s all top quality. You’ve done a phenomenal job here. Thank you, Jordan and Mast Capital for over-delivering on your promises.” 

Next up was Mast Capital’s chief investment officer Jordan Kornberg, who said his firm’s goal was to, “honor the incredible legacy that Saddlebrook has had, while breathing new life into this place. And, we are really proud of the product that we’ve delivered. At the end of the day, it’s not about us, it’s about our employees, our members and our guests. And, the feedback we’ve gotten so far from the community, in just a few weeks, has been so positive, which we really appreciate.” 

He also thanked all of the people who helped make it happen, “especially our on-property team. We couldn’t have made this a reality without all of you.” 

We then toured a couple of the guest rooms (above photo) and all I remember saying was, “Wow, what a difference.” The dated, worn furniture and musty smells are all gone and the furnishings are modern, bright and cheery. Jannah and I now look forward to staying once again at the all-new Saddlebrook Resort. 

For reservations and more information about Saddlebrook Resort, visit Saddlebrook.com or call (813) 973-1111. 

Sports Facilities Companies To Begin Managing Sports Campus Aug. 1! 

Pasco BCC Votes 4-1 To Bring In Veteran Management Company; Parking At The Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus To Be Addressed 

Clearwater-based Sports Facilities Companies (SFC), which manages 90 sports facilities around the country, will take over the management of the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus (WRSC) on August 1. That’s the good news. 

The better news is that SFC has six months to figure out the long-standing problem of not having enough parking at the facility. The not-as-good news, according to the only Pasco County commissioner who voted against entering into the agreement at the June 17 Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) meeting, is that improving the parking situation isn’t in black-&-white on that agreement. 

When the BCC voted 4-1 to approve SFC as the new management company to operate the Sports Campus, District 5 Commissioner Jack Mariano cast the only dissenting vote — not because he doesn’t think SFC will do a good job of managing the facility, but because there is no official commitment regarding parking in place in the agreement, other than SFC has agreed to conduct a feasibility study, to determine the best way to add more parking at WRSC. 

Mariano also said that it was obvious that the county’s tourism department, which goes by the moniker “Florida’s Sports Coast,” did not do a thorough or correct enough job of looking for a new operator when it put out its Request for Proposals (RFP) for companies to take over the management of the Sports Campus. 

“You say you did it right,” Comm. Mariano said to deputy director of tourism Consuelo Sanchez before the agreement was voted on by the BCC. “But, we had only one bidder. If this company coming in says you need to do a feasibility study and you haven’t already done that, you can tell me you think you did a good job, but there’s a flaw there and they (SFC) exposed it.” 

Sanchez said that the RFP went out to 7,800 sports facilities operators around the country, with only four responses and only one company, SFC, that submitted a bid. 

Since June of 2023, the $56-million WRSC has been managed by Pasco’s Parks & Recreation Dept., after the BCC first voted to default (in Oct. 2022) and then bought out the contract of WRSC’s previous operator (RADDSports). According to RADDSports partner Anthony Homer, however, his company was on track to bring in 40,000 room nights when the agreement was bought out in 2023. 

In 2024, the first full year the county managed the facility, Sanchez told the commissioners that the events at WRSC only brought in 21,000 room nights and the facility was on pace for about the same number of nights this year. SFC has committed to bringing in 30,000 room nights annually. The county, which is still paying off the four-year, $3-million buyout of RADDSports’ agreement, also has incurred costs of about $20,000 per month for the Parks Dept. to run the WRSC. 

Under the newly approved agreement with SFC, the county will pay SFC $750,000 — an initial financial commitment of $500,000, which Sanchez called “bridge funding to offset potential revenue shortfalls,” plus a “management fee of $18,000 per month paid out of the Operating Account (an account to be managed by SFC which serves as the central fund to collect facility revenue and disburse expenses).” The 10-year agreement also calls for, “up to $250,000 for Facility Floor Resurfacing Reimbursement, since Sanchez said, “the gym floors [at WRSC] haven’t been resurfaced since the facility opened in 2020.” 

She added, “This necessary upgrade must be completed regardless of facility management to ensure athlete safety, event eligibility and competitive standards.” 

When Comm. 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, Sanchez called Sullivan up to the microphone to confirm that his company is planning to conduct the study. 

Sullivan noted, “We are really excited about this opportunity. We’ve been working diligently with Consuelo, with Keith (Pasco Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources director Keith Wiley) and their teams to find out what’s been working at the facility and what needs to be improved upon — and parking has been one of the challenges. It does us no good to not have convenient and adequate parking and we have full intention of solving the parking solution. We have proposals from three parking garage developers — two from here in the Tampa Bay region — and we know [parking] is going to be the number one thing we need to address.” 

Wiley said that it appears that the only available space for more parking at the facility is an 18-acre lot located north of the 98,000-sq.- ft. AdventHealth Sports Arena, which already is north of the five outdoor fields. 

“It is a bit of a walk from that location to those fields,” Wiley admitted. Dist. 3 Commissioner & Board chair Kathryn Starkey asked if golf carts could possibly shuttle people back and forth from the parking area to and from the fields. 

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

Wiregrass Ranch developer JD Porter, who attended the June 17 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.” 

Following the vote, the Neighborhood News emailed Sullivan a number of questions about SFC’s plans for the Sports Campus, including: 

1) Will SFC have management on-site at the facility? 

2) How many weekend events are already on the books at WRSC for the rest of 2025? 

3) Are there any weekends available this year for SFC to book events? If not, when will SFC (or its LLC created to run the Sports Campus, WRSC SFM, LLC) be able to start adding new weekend events? 

4) Will you be retaining all of the existing employees at the Sports Campus or will you be deciding on a case-by-case basis which of those employees you will retain? 

5) Will you be continuing the local programming that’s currently in place or will SFC be replacing that programming with programs of its own? 

6) When will the parking feasibility study actually begin? 

7) Have you spoken with JD Porter and/ or Scott Sheridan of Locust Branch, LLC, since being awarded the contract? 

8) Have you been in contact with the Peachtree Group about the Residence Inn that shares the Sports Campus site to address any concerns the hotel company may have? 

Sullivan’s response to our email was: “We do not take over operations until Aug 1. I would like to kindly decline any media interviews/discussions until we are formally engaged. I appreciate your understanding.” 

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.

New Driving Range The First Of Many Improvements At Saddlebrook! 

(l.-r.) Jordan Kornberg of Mast Capital, Pasco County Comm. Jack Mariano & Florida Sports Coast exec. director Adam Thomas were among those who took the first swings on the new driving range at Saddlebrook Resort on Dec. 11. (Photos by Charmaine George & Gary Nager)

Since Mast Capital purchased Saddlebrook Resort & Spa from the resort’s late founder and owner Tom Dempsey back in 2022, the Wesley Chapel community has been anxiously waiting to see what Mast was going to do to update and upgrade what was once the jewel of Wesley Chapel. 

To that end, on Dec. 11, Saddlebrook and Mast unveiled the resort’s newly relocated golf driving range with a “first drive” ceremony, a champagne toast and a great party that thunder, lightning and the possibility of heavy rain cut short. 

With Saddlebrook’s former driving range along S.R. 54 being replaced with apartments, the range was relocated to a portion of the former Palmer Course, one of two Arnold Palmer-designed 18-hole courses at the resort. But, Mast decided to do away with nine of the Palmer Course’s 18 holes and the new driving range takes up about six of the other nine holes. 

When the renovations are complete, Saddlebrook will be left with 27 holes of championship golf. 


(Above, l.-r.) Saddlebrook managing director Raj Mohan, Kornberg & Mariano all spoke at the event. 

Mast Capital chief investment officer Jordan Kornberg promised that the new driving range “is just the beginning. We will be returning Saddlebrook to its former glory.” 

Among those joining Kornberg for the ceremonial first drive (complete with exploding golf balls) were the resort’s managing director Raj Mohan, District 1 Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano and Florida Sports Coast executive director Adam Thomas. 

Mohan said he was looking forward to the community seeing the changes now in motion at Saddlebrook and Mariano also expressed excitement for the future of the resort. 

Attendees were treated to a picnic-style lunch with fried chicken, beef brisket and curried pork with all the trimmings, as well as enough umbrellas for everyone in attendance, as heavy showers were a looming possibility. 

For more information about Saddlebrook Resort, visit Saddlebrook.com or call (813) 973-1111. 

Sheffield Promises $3M For Wiregrass Baseball Complex, Extension Granted

James Talton (right) of Pasco Sports, LLC, and former MLB star Gary Sheffield were given one last extension from Pasco County on Nov. 18 to prove they have secured the funds to keep the proposed Wiregrass Ranch baseball facility project alive. Pasco commissioners will decide whether or not to terminate the project on Jan. 13.
James Talton (right) of Pasco Sports, LLC, and former MLB star Gary Sheffield were given one last extension from Pasco County on Nov. 18 to prove they have secured the funds to keep the proposed Wiregrass Ranch baseball facility project alive. 

By Matt Wiley

Retired MLB star and longtime Tampa Bay-area resident Gary Sheffield says that he’ll cough up $3 million of his own money to make sure that the proposed Wiregrass Ranch baseball complex becomes a reality — a move that was enough to earn Pasco Sports, LLC, one last extension from the Pasco County to prove it has the funds to make the project happen.Continue reading