Manatee to spend $2 million on hotel, sports complex. Will it attract more visitors?
Planned upgrades to two of Manatee’s largest facilities are expected to bring the county’s tourism to the next level.
With an eight-story luxury hotel coming to Palmetto, county officials say they’re poised to take advantage of that development by expanding the Bradenton Area Convention Center that sits next door. The partnership is expected to attract conferences and events.
“If we do our job the way we’re supposed to do it, we will stand alone in our ability to bring conferences to the west coast of Florida,” Elliott Falcione, director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said in a presentation to the Board of County Commissioners last week.
Board members voted unanimously Tuesday morning to approve Falcione’s request for up to $2 million in tourism tax funds to pay for the capital design of the improvements at Premier Sports Campus and the convention center. The Tourist Development Council also voted unanimously in support of the funding request in October.
Plans to renovate the convention center include a 30,000-square-foot multi-purpose room that will connect to the hotel, repainting the exterior and possibly building a small parking garage.
According to Falcione, giving the building a facelift is one of the most important parts of the project.
“We want it to look almost like a resort,” Falcione noted. “We want to make sure it complements the hotel.”
The county’s tourism arm conducted research to support the idea that an expanded convention center will bring more business to the area. In a survey of more than 300 event organizers, the vast majority said they would be interested in hosting an event at the upgraded building.
Falcione also touted the economic impact of the incoming hotel, which is estimated to generate $17 million in tourism taxes within 20 years. The upgraded convention center is also expected to have a $2.5 million economic impact per year.
Several commissioners spoke in favor of the plans to improve the convention center. Tourists will be the ones footing the bill, board members noted. Tourism taxes, the fee that visitors pay for hotel stays and vacation rentals in Manatee County, will be used to pay for the upgrades.
“If we don’t do this convention center, the hotel’s not coming,” Commissioner Carol Whitmore said.
“This should be a piece of cake, easy decision,” added Commissioner James Satcher. “This is money that’s designated for tourist activities. It’ll help the city of Palmetto, the city of Bradenton. I don’t enjoy big-ticket items, but if there was ever a good case for one, this is it.”
There are also plans to add amenities to the Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch. Falcione shared that he hopes to bring a 6,500-square-foot permanent tent structure with air conditioning and enough space to seat 400 people.
Multi-purpose locker rooms will be built near the stadium, and the parking lot will be redesigned to add a drop-off area for athletes and 400 new parking spaces.
County staff expect the convention center’s upgrades to line up with the Palmetto Sheraton hotel’s opening by the end of 2023. The improvements at Premier Sports Campus are also scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2023.
