"It should be a public park for taxpayer use," Commissioner Bob McCann said of Premier Sports Campus North after the Sept. 1 Manatee County Commission meeting where the ice rink proposal ended. He represents District 5, which covers the Lakewood Ranch area. The campus he was talking about is about to look very different. A $44 million Athletics & Aquatics Center, the Lakewood Ranch Library's second floor, a Manatee County Sheriff's Office substation and two synthetic soccer fields are all scheduled to be finished by the end of the year.
That stack of December openings finishes most of what the county promised when it bought this land, with one exception. The park amenities are still unbuilt. Since the ice rink deal ended on Sept. 1, nobody has said what goes on the site the rink would have used, and the county hasn't set up a process for deciding.
Nine years from land deal to pool deck
Manatee County bought the original 127-acre Premier Sports Campus from Schroeder-Manatee Ranch in 2017 for $5.2 million, along with 36 adjacent acres to the north. A year later SMR sold the county another 75 acres for $4.6 million. In November 2017, the county agenda item described the northern acreage as land for an aquatic center, other recreation facilities and parking, and said the Parks department would master-plan it.
In November 2021, county officials described their first wave of plans for the site. The table below compares those plans with where each piece stands as of October 2026.
| Item | What the 2021 plan said | Status, October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Aquatic complex | 25-yard, 10-lane lap pool, about $13.6 million, possible opening summer 2024 | 50-meter competition pool plus therapy pool, targeted for December 2026 |
| Pickleball | 24 courts, about $4.8 million, targeted for summer 2022 | 24 courts, 14 covered, opening with the aquatics center |
| Library | Final approval had just been granted | Opened Jan. 12, 2024; second floor due in December |
| Sheriff facility | Listed as a possible future district office and fleet facility | Substation due by year-end |
| Baseball/softball complex | Possible future project | Unfunded, still in the plans |
| Amphitheater, dog park, playground, skate park, BMX track, basketball and volleyball courts, clay tennis courts | Possible future projects | Not built |
The aquatics center grew a lot along the way. Swimmers, coaches and parents filled the commission chambers in 2021 and pushed the county to drop the 25-meter pool plan and build a 50-meter pool. The cost went from the 2021 estimate of $13.6 million for the pool alone to $44.2 million for the combined pickleball and aquatics facility, and the library cost $17.6 million. The Observer's June column said that the library and the swim and pickleball complex took up much of the land, and that Premier North "has run out of room." That column was written while the ice rink was still expected on site.
What you can actually use once the doors open
By late September the structures were built, the pools were full, the pickleball courts were painted and the concrete walking trail was poured. The remaining jobs were furniture, shade sails and turf for the pickleball waiting area. As of Sept. 23 the county was still aiming for December but hadn't set a specific opening date. Here's how the center will work for everyday use, based on what county staff have said so far:
- Swimming is free for individuals. Manatee County doesn't charge residents to use its pools. Teams pay.
- Both pools are heated, and both have lifts. The 50-meter pool and the therapy pool each have pool lifts for anyone who needs help getting in and out. Water temperature is regulated by a $1 million geothermal yard.
- Open swim and team practice share the water. Public Safety division chief Chet Brown said, "We'll always have plenty of space between the two pools for the public and the swim teams."
- Pickleball costs $35 a month or $5 per visit. The drop-in rate covers two consecutive hours of play. Some courts will always be set aside for open play, and the rest can be reserved. The number of each varies by time of day.
- A shaded hitting wall is being installed next to the courts.
- A walking path behind the pickleball courts makes a loop around one of the ponds.
- Lockers are first come, first served. The main building also has locker rooms, showers and a family room.
Court reservations will run through CourtReserve. Molly White, Manatee County's director of Sports and Leisure, said staff will watch the booking data to make sure drop-in times stay available during the busiest hours. The county's general CourtReserve instructions tell new users to join the organization "Manatee County Sports and Leisure Services." Under those instructions, courts can be booked seven days ahead starting at 7:30 a.m. The county's pickleball booking FAQ still names only G.T. Bray, so Premier's own reservation rules may be different once it opens. The plans don't include tennis courts. White said there's room behind the pickleball courts to add them if funding becomes available.
The library next door is also changing. When the second floor opens in December, the adult collection moves upstairs and the first floor becomes a larger children's area. Friends of the Lakewood Ranch Library raised more than $15,000 in April's Giving Challenge. With that money it bought four ChompSaws, which are child-safe saws that cut cardboard, and three Quest Launchpad tablets for kids ages 3 to 10. The remaining $5,000 is going to a 10-laptop cart that patrons can borrow for use inside the library. The group's Book Nook in the lobby, which raises money by selling donated books, now has volunteers sorting in a second-floor workroom. Until now, those books were stored in the laundry room of Friends president Regina Negrycz.
Three rentable spaces, three sets of rules
Once the aquatics center opens, the campus will have three kinds of rentable space. Each one comes with different rules.
The center's community room can be rented for parties. It can be used as one large room or split into two, and each half has its own TV and access to a catering kitchen. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the pools. Rental pricing hasn't been published yet.
The library rooftop and backyard are special event spaces. The rooftop holds up to 150 people. Base rates are $100 an hour during library hours and $150 an hour outside them, with a $300 minimum. You can submit a request anywhere from 13 months to 14 days before your event, and staff review each request before setting the final price.
The library's community rooms are for meetings only, not private parties. They cost $25 an hour for 9 to 69 people and $50 an hour for 70 to 100. At the Lakewood Ranch branch, Meeting Room A holds 56, Room B holds 28, the two together form an 84-person auditorium, and the conference room holds 16.
The site the ice rink would have used
The ice rink proposal from Icemann Development LLC was called Project Grace. Under it, the county would have leased 22 acres at Premier to Icemann for $1 a year and put $5 million in tourist development tax money toward a five-story parking garage. In July, commissioners told staff to look at moving the project to a different location. Development Services director Nicole Knapp said the county only studied other spots within Premier, because Icemann CEO Gordie Zimmermann wasn't interested in going anywhere else. On Sept. 1, commissioners ended the talks. "It's completely over," McCann said.
The Observer reported that more than 50 Lakewood Ranch residents came to that meeting dressed in red, and that several of them asked for a park instead. A resident brought a rendering of a made-up "Kruse-McCann Park." Another resident reminded commissioners that Elliott Falcione, director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, had previously said Premier Sports Campus South was for economic development and Premier Sports Campus North was for the community. A third resident said people like green space, even if walking trails and trees might seem boring.
The commissioners still disagree about how to decide what comes next. Commission Chair Tal Siddique would like to see a community workshop, similar to the five workshops the county held for the former Seafood Shack site in Cortez. He said he won't push for one himself, though, because Premier isn't in his district. McCann doesn't want a workshop. He wants Falcione and the Sports and Leisure department to put together a master plan first and then present it to the public. "I would like to see a finished product," he said.
The one leftover recreation item that's still officially in the plans is the baseball and softball complex, and it has no funding. White confirmed in June that it remains part of the plan. As of Oct. 1, 2026, no meeting record or published report has named a replacement use for the former rink site or a date for public input. The dog park, amphitheater and playground from the 2021 list are still unclaimed, and so is the land where they might go.
If you want to know how a new public amenity like this could change everyday ownership costs or rental demand near Premier North, Kevin Bryceland follows the county's Premier decisions closely and is glad to talk through what's confirmed and what's still pending. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
