17 Years In Making, Wiregrass Ranch Sports Complex Now Open

WESLEY CHAPEL, FL — After 17 years in the planning and another year under construction, Pasco County has opened its new 98,000-square-foot Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus in Wesley Chapel.

Experience Florida’s Sports Coast, the organization responsible for promoting tourism in Pasco County, celebrated the completion of the project with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday in which the community was invited to participate virtually.

“With (Pasco County's) recent rebranding as Florida’s Sports Coast, the new Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County will increase our competitive role in the sports tourism market,” said Mike Moore, chairman of the Pasco County Tourist Development Council and Pasco County Commission. “Families come to compete, but also look for opportunities to be entertained off the field. We look forward to having them dine in our restaurants, shop at our stores and enjoy our local attractions, further contributing to Pasco’s economy.”

The $29 million field house at 3211 LaJuana Blvd. was constructed using Pasco County tourist development funds (hotel bed taxes). It features two 35,500-square-foot multipurpose courts with eight drop-down basketball hoops and 16 volleyball nets; a 5,000-square-foot indoor cheer zone with a springboard floor; two full-size, outdoor multipurpose fields and parking for 1,100 vehicles. The field house is able to host crowds of more than 700 people.

For nearly two decades, Pasco County planned to develop an income-generating sports complex on a 120-acre property donated to the county by the Porter family. The Porters, one of Pasco County's leading cattle ranchers, established Wiregrass Ranch in 1942.

“The board knew then what the lifeblood of tourism was for the county,” said tourism director Adam Thomas.

According to the Florida Sports Foundation, the sports industry attracts 16 million visitors a year to Florida, generating $57.4 billion in total sales and creating 580,000 jobs.

The Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus is an integral step in Pasco County's ambition to become Florida's sports tourism destination and grab a share of those tourism dollars.

The county commission envisioned a sports campus that would accommodate amateur youth and adult volleyball, cheerleading, basketball, martial arts, gymnastics and indoor soccer tournaments, camps and clinics, attracting teams and spectators from around the world.

After several deals with potential sports management companies fell through, Jonesville, Florida-based RADD Sports stepped forward in 2017 to oversee the construction of the project and operate the sports campus.

"Amateur sports tourism is one of the fastest-growing market segments of the travel industry, and Pasco County's is becoming a major player,'' said Moore, who helped spearhead Pasco County's efforts to corner the youth sports market. "This facility is going to be a boon for small businesses across the county.''

“Not only will the sports campus provide a new level of play for amateur sports competitors, it also expands our meeting venue portfolio, allowing us to offer unparalleled, expansive space to meeting and event planners looking to host trade shows, conventions and business-related events,” said Thomas.

“This venue is unlike anything else in the Tampa Bay sports market,” said sports development and tourism manager Consuelo Sanchez. “It’s solely dedicated to sports and includes everything event organizers and planners look for, all under one roof. Having an on-site hotel really adds to the convenience Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus offers to event planners who are considering different venues. That, and having a diverse selection of additional hotels throughout the destination, make booking a sporting event at the sports campus a no-brainer.”

Sanchez has been busy promoting the sports campus to youth amateur sporting event planners and organizers across the country. Forty-three out of 52 weekends through August 2021 are now booked with youth amateur sporting events.

After an open house Aug. 15, the field house hosted a basketball tournament last week. The Candice Dupree Invitational basketball tournament presented by the Tampa Thunder will take place this weekend. And a youth Soccer Labor Day 3v3 Challenge is set for Saturday, Sept. 5.

RADD Sports estimates the campus will attracted 27,000 visitors a year with gross revenues at $3.8 million in the first year and increases each year after.

To accommodate out-of-town visitors, a 128-room Residence Inn by Marriott is under construction on the property. The pet-friendly hotel will be owned and operated by Mainsail Lodging & Development. It will offer studio, one- and two-bedroom suites, with a pool, a fitness center, sport court, outdoor area with fire pit, meeting space and rooftop bar.

The field house is the first phase of a $44 million project that will include an outdoor amphitheater, lawn space for festivals and a public park with walking, running and biking trails and playgrounds.

Amenities at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Complex include:

• 16 volleyball courts
• 8 basketball courts
• Competition cheer studio
• 16 pickleball courts
• 8 futsal courts
• 2 cheer competition areas
• Athletic training center
• VIP mezzanine
• Meeting area
• Educational lab
• Lounge area
• Concessions area
• Full-service kitchen

See related stories:

• Long-Awaited Groundbreaking For Wiregrass Sports Complex June 7
• Pasco Hosts Groundbreaking For Wesley Chapel Recreation Center