The Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County is doing more than just helping drive sports tourism in Pasco. It is providing a unique venue for locals, both children and adults, to enjoy a variety of indoor and outdoor sports. On Jan. 3, the Sports Campus hosted a Community Open House inside the AdventHealth Sports Arena, which introduced mask-wearing, socially distant locals to these programs. And yes, it was a great success.
“We signed up more than 40 new people, mostly kids, from the event,” says RADDSports director of marketing Jannah Nager. “The event also introduced people who attended to our Sports Campus sponsors.”
At the Jan. 3 Community Open House for the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County, every attendee was temperature checked. The USF Bulls cheer squad held a practice inside the AdventHealth Sports Arena at the Sports Campus. Attendees got to meet the Sports Campus sponsors, including Abdoney Orthodontics, which provided a putting green, and Island Fin Poké Co., which had people hula-hooping.
RADD Sports is the private company providing the programs and managing the Sports Campus through a public-private partnership between RADD and the county. RADD Sports founder and CEO Richard Blalock says that although the Sports Campus is already proving to be popular for both locals and competitive tournaments in the “core” sports being offered — basketball, volleyball, cheerleading and soccer (both in and outside of the AdventHealth Sports Arena) — “Events like the Open House allow more local residents the opportunity to check us out and see everything we have to offer.”
Among the sponsors with booths at the Open House were Island Fin Poké Co. (see story on pgs. 34-35), Abdoney Orthodontics, Glory Days Grill, Culver’s, Urban Air Adventure Park, the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa-Wesley Chapel, the Hampton Inn and the Neighborhood News.
For more info about programs at the Sports Campus, call (833) TEAM-RADD. For sponsorships, email Jannah@RADDSports.com.
Other Sponsors Include Olympus Pools, Lifestyle Home Real Estate, Coca-Cola, Hilton Garden Inn & the Neighborhood News.
AdventHealth is putting its name on another prominent sports facility in Wesley Chapel.
The healthcare system, which includes the AdventHealth Tampa and Wesley Chapel hospitals, announced on Oct. 21 that it has agreed to a multi-year sponsorship agreement with RADDSports for the naming rights to the AdventHealth Sports Arena at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County.
While the Sports Campus itself hasn’t changed names, the 98,000-sq.-ft. indoor facility will bear the AdventHealth Sports Arena name (see rendering).
AdventHealth also has owned the naming rights to the Center Ice facility on S.R. 56 since before the healthcare giant changed its name from Florida Hospital to AdventHealth.
“AdventHealth is committed to partnerships that amplify the health and wellness of the communities we serve,” said Erik Wangsness, President and CEO of AdventHealth Wesley Chapel. “We are much more than a hospital and remain focused on empowering our communities to take wellness into their own hands. The AdventHealth Sports Arena will provide a platform for athletes to showcase their skill and talent while working to stay in peak condition.”
The Sports Arena is the home for travel tournaments for basketball (the building can be configured as eight regulation-sized courts) and volleyball (up to 16 courts), as well as gymnastics and cheerleading camps and competitions, to name just a few.
The Sports Campus also will host soccer tournaments and other sports on its two outdoor fields. The campus also will be home to a 128-room Residence Inn by Marriott, which is being developed by Mainsail Development.
The eight-year Advent Health agreement is for $10,000 a month, with an option for more years.
“AdventHealth is a quality health care provider and one of the best-known names in the entire state of Florida,” said Richard Blalock, CEO and founder of RADDSports. “We couldn’t have found a better organization to serve as the primary sponsor of the Sports Campus. It means the thousands of athletes from across the country who will participate in basketball, volleyball and cheerleading events every weekend, as well as the local residents who take part in our programs during the week, will associate AdventHealth with a commitment to staying healthy and active.”
The Sports Arena opened in August. The first event, a basketball recruiting showcase, was held the last weekend in August.
Although the Covid-19 pandemic has slowed the travel and youth sports markets down, the facility has something booked “almost every weekend,” between August 2020 and Aug. 2021, according to RADDSports director of marketing Jannah Nager.
In addition to AdventHealth, RADDSports has announced a number of its other major sponsors, including Olympus Pools (see ad below), the Lifestyle Home Real Estate Team, Coca-Cola, Hilton Garden Inn-Tampa/Wesley Chapel, New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News, GL Homes, the Shops At Wiregrass, the Fairfield Inn By Marriott and Hampton Inn Wesley Chapel hotels, as well as restaurant partners Bubba’s 33 , Culver’s of Wesley Chapel, Glory Days Grill, Island Fin Poke Co., Noble Crust, Pasta di Guy, Smoothie King and the Urban Air Trampoline & Adventure Park.
