Taxes paid on lodgings would help pay for both projects.
MANATEE COUNTY – Taxes paid on motel rooms and other short-term lodgings in Manatee County could be used to partially pay for two assets that attract tourists: the restoration of the historic pier in Anna Maria and the public acquisition of the Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch.
On Monday, Manatee’s Tourist Development Council recommended the county use some of the roughly $13 million in annual proceeds from the 5 percent resort tax for both popular destinations.
The County Commission will act on those recommendations Thursday.
Built in 1911, the 776-foot-long pier overlooking Tampa Bay has long been “the focal point of our city,” Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy told the tourism board. In September, Hurricane Irma extensively damaged the wooden structure and forced its closure to the public. An engineering firm determined that the damage is too extensive to be repaired.
“It cannot be just patched back together,” Murphy said.
So, the city intends to build an exact replica with the same footprint. The cost could exceed $3.2 million, possibly up to $4.5 million if the restaurant and bait shop are fully replaced.
The tourism board recommends that the county use resort taxes to reimburse the city for $1.5 million.
Murphy said state Rep. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, intends to file an appropriations bill for about $750,000 in state funding because the pier is regarded as historic. The city will also pursue financial assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“The jury is still out on the FEMA dollars,” Murphy said, though the possibility of some federal assistance “looks good.”
The new pier will feature solar panels and be designed to accommodate the possibility of a future water taxi service, the mayor noted. City officials hope to have the project completed within a couple of years.
The tourism board also gave its official nod to the county acquisition of the Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch.
In 2011, Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, the developer of Lakewood Ranch, created the 126.9-acre complex that is used by local sports teams and for major soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and other tournaments that attract athletes and spectators from across the state. SMR has offered to sell the campus of 23 multi-purpose fields, including a stadium that seats 3,500, to the county for $5.2 million – the amount it spent on construction.
The county administration proposes using $3.1 million from resort taxes and $2.1 million from park impact fees for the purchase. Impact fees are paid on new home construction to cover the cost of infrastructure, such as parks, required by the increasing population.
The county could eventually invest as much as $4 million from resort taxes in the complex if it proceeds with adding a 3,000-square-foot multipurpose building, so that tournament promoters would no longer have to use rented tents, and more restrooms.
Elliott Falcione, director of the county’s tourism bureau, said the market value of the complex is about $20 million or more.
SMR is willing to include another 39 undeveloped acres on the north side of the property, where the county could eventually add parking and an aquatic center.
Falcione said the sports complex accounts for more than 20,000 hotel room stays and an economic impact of $14 million annually. He expects that number of hotel room bookings to increase to almost 22,000 and the economic impact to reach about $18.5 million.
“This isn’t just any complex,” Falcione said. He noted that it is widely regarded as a state-of-the-art facility. “This is a great deal that will reap benefits for years to come.”
The county and SMR want to finalize the sale before the end of the calendar year. The county will hire Premier's staff.