IMG Academy’s growth puts it at top among Bradenton area businesses, senior vp says
The massive construction project across the street from Bayshore High School is a reminder of IMG Academy, its growth, and its importance in the Bradenton community.
Chris Ciaccio, senior vice president for IMG Academy, offered insight into the construction project and IMG’s wide-ranging role Wednesday during a Manatee Chamber of Commerce Headliners Luncheon.
What motorists see while traveling through the 5100 block of 34th Street West is the expansion of IMG’s East Campus. Ground was broken there in the fall of 2020 and completion is expected by the end of 2021 or early 2022.
The expansion represents a return of sorts to IMG’s roots of more than 40 years ago when the Bollettieri Tennis Academy became famous for training world-beating tennis stars.
The expansion will include two stadium tennis courts (one clay and one hard), four outdoor red clay courts, five indoor air-conditioned tennis courts, new locker rooms, and a hall of fame.
Also planned for the campus expansion are four basketball courts — three for training and one game arena with stadium seating, a designated basketball shooting court and training area, four suites overlooking basketball courts with film room capabilities, meeting rooms with video capability, and office space.
Today, IMG Academy employs between 900 and 1,000, depending on the season, and has 1,300 students spread across its 600 acres. With its 1,000 students who board there, IMG is the largest boarding school in the United States, Ciaccio said.
“They come here because they want to play their sport in college. About 45% of our graduates are competing at the Division I level,” he said.
“There is not another organization like us. It’s like we are the Juilliard of athletics,” Ciaccio said.
Annually, IMG attracts one million visitors, and they come from more than 60 countries. IMG now has offices in Beijing and Shanghai, China, as well as Seoul, South Korea, and Tokyo, Japan.
Eleven IMG Academy alums competed in the Summer Olympics this year. Two golfers won medals. Nelly Korda won gold, while C.T. Pan won bronze.
In 2013, IMG launched its football program. During the most recent draft, the NFL selected a dozen IMG alums.
Most recently, the WNBA held its championships in the Bradenton area with the players living and training at IMG and playing their games at Feld Entertainment in Ellenton.
“It was like stars aligning,” Ciaccio said of hosting the women’s basketball championship during the COVID-19 pandemic.
IMG Academy has come a long way since 1978, and Bradenton has been an incredible place to work and grow, Ciaccio said.
Currently, about 70 percent of the students at IMG are male, and about 30 percent are female. IMG is looking for more balance and may find it with a potential move into volleyball, he said.
John Horne, owner of the Anna Maria Oyster Bar restaurants in Manatee County, asked about the economic impact of IMG Academy in the Bradenton area.
Rather than quoting a figure, Ciaccio said it is “sizeable,” citing the number of staff and the number of visitors that IMG attracts annually.
This story was originally published October 13, 2021 at 3:33 PM.
