Globally known Sarasota rowing park seeks to add indoor multi-sport facility

From what was once a borrow pit for Interstate 75 construction has emerged, over the last 12 years, a best-in-class rowing facility in north Sarasota County: Nathan Benderson Park. 

The next phase of its evolution from what once was literally a giant hole in the ground is a planned indoor sports complex and boathouse. The project is a joint effort of Sarasota County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources and the Nathan Benderson Park Conservancy. 

The facility is planned to be built on the island next to the finish tower.

Nicole Rissler, the county’s PRNR director, briefed the County Commission at its July 9 meeting on the progress of planning for the facility, which has reached the 30% design phase.

That planning began in January 2022 when the Nathan Benderson Park Conservancy procured a consulting agency to perform an initial feasibility study, the results of which were presented to the commission four months later. At that time, commissioners approved dedicating $20 million toward the project from penny surtax funds. 

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“So what have we done since then? A whole lot of data collection, research of other facilities and feedback from various sports and facilities subject matter experts,” Rissler told commissioners. “I think I sat in 15 hours of focus groups of different entities — the pickleball group, the volleyball group, the basketball group, the rowing group — on what if they started with a white piece of paper, what would be the ultimate facility?”

The result of that input as work begins to take the project to 90% planning includes:

“As many of you know, we don't have a whole lot of indoor space here in Sarasota County for community use and for special events,” Rissler said. “In my former life as the director of sports for Visit Sarasota County, one of the areas that we couldn't go after is events. We just don't have the indoor space to do it, so that's part of the feasibility study.”

The indoor sports complex is necessary for the continued attraction of national and even international rowing events at Nathan Benderson Park, which bring with them hotel room nights and the economic impact of considerable spending. 

Commissioner Joe Neunder pointed out the importance of the high-performance training center for attracting elite athletes here to train and compete.

“That will be a game changer, especially when you talk about Olympic athletes who are looking to peak at the top of their game to qualify for global events,” Neunder said. “I think that's a huge sell.”

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The inventory of indoor sports courts is intended to draw large tournaments, in addition to availability for public use. That includes access to the high-performance training center.

“I think being flexible enough allows classes, a membership and those kinds of things when Olympic athletes or college teams aren't using those facilities,” Rissler said.

Staff and consultants have visited and continue to visit comparable indoor sports complexes to view real-world examples for the next 60% of design that is expected to begin soon. Those complexes include:

• IMG Academy in Bradenton
• Rock Hill Event Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina
• Upward Star Event Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina
• Hoover Met Complex in Hoover, Alabama
• The Big House in Tavares, outside Orlando 
• Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus in Wesley Chapel

“We know there's a community need,” Rissler said. “What we found is we really are a sweet spot on the west coast of Florida. You have Tampa and Orlando from a convention center perspective. You have some smaller facilities like Wiregrass in the Tampa area, but really between us and Hertz Arena in Fort Myers there's a big gap in our area.”

This article originally appeared on sister site YourObserver.com.