Tourism panel recommends $2 million for conceptual plan to expand convention center
The Manatee County Tourist Development Council on Monday unanimously recommended spending up to $2 million in tourist bed tax funds for conceptual plans to expand the county convention center.
The money would also pay for plans to improve Premier Sports Campus. The recommendation goes to the Manatee County Commission, which has the power to approve or disapprove the funding.
The 65,000-square-foot Bradenton Area Convention Center at 1 Haben Blvd., Palmetto, would be expanded to 90,000-square feet and be connected to the planned eight-story, 250-room Sheraton resort hotel next door.
The expansion would include a multi-purpose room with banquet-style seating for 800, making it the largest facility of its kind in Manatee County, and a parking deck that would accommodate between 100 and 150 vehicles.
Renovations are also envisioned for the convention center, including new ceiling tiles, refinishing the floor, door replacements, restroom updating, kitchen upgrades, and repainting the interior and the exterior in colors that are complementary to the hotel.
Misty Servia, who chaired Monday’s meeting and serves on the county commission, called the expansion plans “a game changer” for Manatee County.
Tony DeRusso, managing director for the hotel project, said that he expects vertical construction of the hotel to begin in late October, and be completed in 2023.
The hotel project plans also include a roof-top lounge and 32,410-square-feet of grassy area and patio space outdoors for concerts, special events, picnics and weddings.
The convention center hotel is expected to create 232 jobs and generate $17 million in tourism tax dollars over a 20-year period.
Hotel site preparation, including storm water management and the installation of underground utilities, is nearing completion.
Meanwhile, plans at Premier Sports Campus, 5895 Post Blvd., Lakewood Ranch, include a permanent frame tent with concrete floors to serve as a locker room/multi-purpose room with a seating capacity for 400, a drop off parking loop, and 429 new parking spaces.
The 6,500-square-foot facility, with a life expectancy of 20 years, would also be a place for spectators and the athletes to escape the heat from the Florida sun. It would also become a magnet for non-sports special events.
Shirley Groover Bryant, mayor of Palmetto and a member of the TDC, said the plans to expand the convention center have been a long time coming, and that the facility would serve as an anchor for the entire Manatee County community.
Ed Chiles, another member of the TDC, said convention center expansion has been discussed since at least 1985.
“It is indeed about taking us to another level. I know this will be a great success,” Chiles said.
Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown reflected on the time it has taken convention expansion plans to move to center stage by noting that 1985 was the year that he graduated from high school.
“I like the private-public partnership. We hope that the convention center will attract so many people that the overflow will go to Bradenton hotels,” Brown said.
Mock-ups of several rooms in the proposed hotel already exist inside the convention center near the offices of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
This story was originally published September 13, 2021 at 3:16 PM.
