Work begins to add seating, other amenities to Lakewood Ranch's Premier Sports Campus
LAKEWOOD RANCH -- Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, developer of Lakewood Ranch, is adding civilizing touches to Premier Sports Campus.
More than 3,000 stadium seats, restrooms, a concession stand, meeting room and small medical room should be completed within 190 days, said Antonio Saviano, director of sports.
Crews were putting up construction fencing Friday around a field near the south boundary of the 145-acre property.
"It will take Premier Sports Campus to another level," Saviano said.
The campus opened in April 2011 with the Clearwater Chargers as anchor tenant and plans to host grassfield sports for teams across the United States and Europe.
Premier Sports was an immediate hit with soccer leagues and other sports requiring grass surfaces.
A few months later, SMR invested $1.1 million in lighting to allow teams to play after sunset.
Even though Premier Sports Campus drew kudos for its carpet-like grass fields, spectators had to bring lawn chairs or blankets and use portable toilets.
Now, that is changing.
Creature comforts are coming to the 23-field complex, which should bring even more events to Lakewood Ranch.
In 2015, Premier Sports Campus will host about 50 events ranging from music concerts to Boo Fest and sports tournaments.
"As we get into 2016, we expect more events. We will be busier than we have ever been" Saviano said.
Among the larger events in 2015 were the Labor Day Chargers Showcase, which brought upward of 13,000 people to Premier Sports Campus, and the Nike International Friendlies, which hosted as many as 18,000.
"Sports tourism in this area is big, and Premier Sports Campus has been a big part of that," Saviano said. "This will add pressure to build more hotels in the area."
SMR will also add a visitor center on the campus, in part because of all the new Lakewood Ranch neighborhoods opening on the eastern side of the developer's holdings.
Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, called the new amenities a smart business decision.
When parents bring children to sporting events at Lakewood Ranch, they often fall in love with the area, including the Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key beaches and Bradenton, as well as the Ranch, Falcione said.
"Once we get them here, and they learn about our destination, 94 percent of them come back again," Falcione said.
Upcoming events planned at the campus include the Bubble Soccer Tournament on Nov. 21, the Holiday Soccer Camp on Dec. 21, and the PSC Girls Holiday Showcase on Dec. 27.
Among the potential future users of Premier Sports Campus is Major League Football, a new, professional spring-football league scheduled to kick off in 2016, and which has its corporate headquarters in Lakewood Ranch.
"Certainly everyone at Major League Football is excited about the new stadium at the Premier Sports Complex," Nick Athan, a spokesman for the league, told the Bradenton Herald in August.
"I could see where Major League Football would consider live game scrimmages and other special events inside the new stadium," the Herald previously reported Athan as saying.
When Rex Jensen, president and CEO of SMR, announced plans for Premier Sports Campus, it was described as a place where families, recreation and economic development would merge.
The campus is said to be the largest of its kind in Florida.
James A. Jones Jr., East Manatee reporter, can be contacted at 941-745-7053 or on Twitter@jajones1.
This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Work begins to add seating, other amenities to Lakewood Ranch's Premier Sports Campus ."