Hills and Thrills

The phrase moving dirt is a colossal understatement for what a crew of six or so bulldozer drivers are up to on a rural patch of Charlotte County.

Dirt, and a lot of it, is certainly being moved.

But at this site, 70 miles southeast of downtown Sarasota and 40 miles north of downtown Fort Myers, there is enough dirt — 500,000 cubic yards — to fill 150 Olympic-size swimming pools. The tan and gray clay-like substance, on 1,000 acres of cattle grazing land in Punta Gorda, forms the foundation of what could become a unique Gulf Coast destination: an entertainment and outdoor adventure park with everything from 80 acres of paintball to camping and five motocross motorcycle racing tracks to a planned 23,000-seat outdoor concert amphitheater.

The project is named Florida Tracks and Trails. The first phase, including the motocross, is scheduled to open by the end of the year. “It's a massive project in terms of its significance to Charlotte County, as well as Lee County and the rest of Florida,” says Charlotte County Tourism Director Lorah Steiner. “One thing we have needed for a long time is more family-friendly attractions. And this is certainly that.”

The lead developer for Florida Tracks and Trails, projected to cost $17 million to $20 million in phase one alone, is Punta Gorda construction entrepreneur Terry Cooke. Cooke's companies, according to the Florida Division of Corporations, include Cooke Land Clearing and Cooke Land Development. Cooke, who declined multiple interview requests, has a 75-year lease on the Florida Tracks and Trails land through a family trust, says project spokeswoman Rachael Ketterman.

“This has been a dream of Terry's for years,” Ketterman says. “There isn't a place for family entertainment like this that's safe and controlled. He saw a real need for it.”

Funds for the project, adds Ketterman, are from Cooke and his partners, a group that includes a heavy concentration of EB-5 visa investors. Those investors can obtain a green card in exchange for at least a $500,000 investment into a qualified project under the federal Immigration Act of 1990. Qualified projects include developments in rural areas.

Phase one of Florida Tracks and Trails consists mostly of the motocross tracks and paintball fields, both of which have generated buzz in the respective niche sports industries. Jason Baker, a prominent motocross track builder and designer through his company, Lakeland-based Dream Traxx, is behind the quintet of tracks at Florida Tracks and Trails.

The tracks include a professional one sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association, a leading industry organization; an amateur track; a beginner track; a peewee track; and an ATV/UTV obstacle course. Baker's firm has built tracks worldwide, from Florida to Japan.

“We are building by far the baddest track in the Southeast,” says Baker, as he watches a bulldozer plow up a 40-foot hill on a recent sweltering morning at the site. “You can't compare it because there's nothing like it. This is easily a national caliber track.”

'Fill a gap'
Ketterman adds there's also nothing in the state, from a family-friendly outdoor entertainment perspective, like Florida Tracks and Trails.

For starters, beyond paintball and motocross, there's the amphitheater. At 23,000 seats it would be the biggest in Florida, says Ketterman. Florida Tracks and Trails recently hired former Fort Myers-based Clear Channel radio executive Deborah Pollard to book acts. Ketterman says targets are anything from kids group The Wiggles to country star Tim McGraw. Construction on the amphitheater, expected to cost well more than $10 million, could begin by 2015 or 2016. Says Ketterman: “We are filling a gap for this coast in entertainment.”

Other features include a recreational lake with sand and palm trees; miles of one-direction off-road trails for ATV's and go-carts; off-road vehicle repair and rentals; party pavilion rentals; a zip line eco-adventure; camping areas; and a general store and full concession center. The park will be open Thursday through Sunday.

Ketterman estimates there will be around 250 employees at Florida Tracks and Trails by 2019. Previously in marketing in Fort Myers, Ketterman has spent part of the past six months giving tours of the project and speaking about it in front of business groups, chambers and government officials. Part of that work, say several Charlotte County officials, is defensive in nature given how opposition forces can sometimes derail large-scale development projects in any Gulf Coast community.

Large obstacles
Charlotte County Commissioner Tricia Duffy credits Florida Tracks and Trails for being proactive. That stretches from Ketterman's outreach to digital wristbands customers will be required to wear and use to pay for food and beverages. That especially includes alcohol, so employees can keep tabs on people who shouldn't be on a motocross track or a paintball field.

Says Duffy: “They have done an excellent job of planning to prevent negative things happening.”

Duffy and her fellow commissioners support the project. But even the most optimistic believers acknowledge there is a large mound of challenges forthcoming to complete the entire Tracks and Trails vision.

The climb began with the arduous approval process: Developers obtained 24 permits over two years for a variety of land use and other regulations.

With construction underway another obstacle looms: infrastructure around the park to support what Tracks and Trails officials say can be up to 20,000 visitors a day. That starts with one-lane Bermont Road, the only entrance point. Duffy is one of several who say the road will need a major widening. “There's no doubt about it,” Duffy says. “And we will need some help from the private sector.”

Another concern is the distinct lack of nearby hotels and restaurants. The nearest hotel, for example, is more than 15 miles away. There are 500 acres on the property that aren't part of the Florida Tracks and Trails long-term vision. Ketterman says there are no current plans there for hotels or other properties.

“We need to take a look at the area around it,” says Steiner, with the Charlotte County tourism department. “We need to make sure there is quality and well-placed growth.”

Family and friends
While Florida Tracks and Trails officials stress the uniqueness of the project, there is another outdoor adventure park a few miles away, also off Bermont Road: The Redneck Yacht Club Mud Park. The park hosts weekend racing events and is open for people to drive mud trucks, ATVs, swamp buggies and other off-road vehicles on their own.

Redneck Yacht Club has become a popular destination since Charlotte County entrepreneur Danny Kelly opened it on a former potato farm in 2009. That popularity — a motto is “you bring the party, we'll supply the mud” — has also brought law enforcement and some negative publicity for a few alleged incidents. One of those included an alleged stabbing in February.

Publicity like that is one reason Ketterman and Charlotte County officials constantly stress the family-friendly side of Florida Tracks and Trails. “I think it's exciting and very impressive,” Charlotte County Commissioner Stephen Deutsch says. “It certainly has the opportunity to be a destination and an economic development boom.”

Executive Summary
Company. Florida Tracks and Trails Industry. Entertainment, development Key. Developers expect phase one of the project, to cost up to $20 million, to open by the end of 2014.

By the Numbers
Florida Tracks and Trails (projected)

Park is on 1,000 acres, with 500 additional acres for future expansion. (Busch Gardens is on 335 acres.)

500,000 cubic yards of dirt for the motocross tracks;

A 1.8-mile pro-level motocross track;

A proposed 23,000-seat outdoor concert amphitheater that would be the largest in Florida;

More than 20 miles of one-directional off-road trails;

A 40,000-square-foot expo hall on the event grounds;

80 acres of paintball fields;

Around 500 RV camping slips;

Park can accommodate up to 25,000 vehicles per day;

A potable water system that can hold 25,000 gallons a day;

A 10-acre recreation lake and beach.

Source: Florida Tracks and Trails