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Company Has Plans For Sports Facility

Photo from Big League Dreams

An aerial shot of one of the nine Big League Dreams sports parks. Pasco County officials are continuing negotiations to bring a similar facility to Pasco residents.

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By Eric Horchy | The Suncoast News

Published: August 20, 2008

TRINITY - For the vast majority of the population, that onetime hope of crushing a hanging curveball over Boston's Green Monster or perhaps peppering a gapper to the ivy in Chicago is most likely - i.e. definitely - long gone.

While reality can be at times cruelly acute and finite, dreams and fantasies are, in contrast, forever.

That's exactly where the California-based company Big League Dreams can step in. It offers a scaled down opportunity to play ball in replica major league parks to anyone from little league baseball and softball players to grown-up weekend warriors.

Pasco County residents may be next in line to experience what such a complex has to offer if area officials can crunch the right numbers in ongoing contract discussions with the company.

Eric Keaton, public communications manager with the county's Office of Tourism, said a project team of county staff members will be meeting for the second time within the week to try and shore up a contract to send back to Big League Dreams.

The company was selected for the proposed project in May, beating out another California-based development company, Sportsplex USA. Opting for Big League Dreams brings an initial $750,000 consulting fee along with a $350,000 licensing charge for the use of its name. These are numbers Keaton mentioned may be negotiable in contract discussions.

Overall project costs from start to finish have been loosely estimated in the $16 million to $20 million range, but variable factors remain to be solidified.

Two such factors are the park's size and location. In May's selection process of Big League Dreams, the size of the proposed facility ranged from 30-40 acres. As for location, three county officials - Keaton, County Commissioner Michael Cox and Parks and Recreation Director Frederick "Rick" Buckman - said that is yet to be decided, but mentioned that the Trinity and Wesley Chapel areas have been discussed.

Both areas abut major throughways - I-75 in Wesley Chapel and the Suncoast Parkway, east of Trinity - which add to their attraction. If constructed, the complex would be expected to draw outside tournaments.

Buckman mentioned that a larger parcel of land may at this point be easier to acquire for such an endeavor in the Trinity area and that the Parks and Recreation Department's master plan has already identified Trinity as the next place that needs a significant park.

Big League Dreams operates at total of nine facilities, in California, Texas and Arizona. The complex typically consists of multiple - from three to six - replica ballparks, an indoor sports facility, batting cages, a playground area and an onsite restaurant. Pat Knight, the new park development director with Big League Dreams, said that virtually any ballpark - existing or pre-existing - can be chosen to be replicated.

Redding, Calif. - a town of roughly 100,000 residents in the northern reaches of the state - has been home to a Big League Dreams complex since July 31, 2004. Kim Neimer, the city's Director of Community Services, said the facility has continued to be an economic boon for Redding since Day 1.

"The project outperformed the initial business plan and is doing very well," she said. "In terms of serving the local needs, it has exceeded the community's expectations."

She and the Redding Big League Dreams' general manager, Gene Lanthorn, said the town's local number of recreational league softball teams increased from about 35 to more than 200 since opening the park. They were hoping for that number by year five but surpassed it by the second year.

Playing host to outside and three-day type tournaments continues to have a positive economic effect on the restaurant, hotel and tourism industries, Neimer said.

"With a complex as nice as Big League Dreams, people are going to travel to play here just to have the experience," Lanthorn said.

A 2006 evaluation of the park's economic impact showed an effect of greater than $6 million on the local economy after Year 1, expected to increase to more than $9 million by Year 5.

Neimer also noted that the complex can facilitate other events as well, such as concerts that draw additional patrons to the venue.

With Pasco recently making further headway on the Pasco National Tennis Center, becoming a reality in the Wesley Chapel area, officials noted that there is still plenty of work to do until the type of developments seen in areas such as Redding come to town locally.

Additional factors, such as how to use county recreation-focused impact fee money and holding multiple public meetings with area youth and sports groups, remain to be completed, Commissioner Cox said.

Aside from the multimillion-dollar price tag that will come with a Big League Dreams complex, one aspect that continues to attract county officials to the proposal is that the company will be fully operating the park once it opens. Knight, of Big League Dreams, said that he expects that about 75 - 80 jobs will be created to operate the facilities, all on the company's bill.

Overall, Keaton said he sees the economic benefit for Pasco County being well worth the initial investment.

"One way to strengthen the economy is to bring in jobs," he said. "And I know those two projects (the tennis center included) will bring in jobs and they will also improve the economic impact of the area."

Eric Horchy can be reached at 727-815-1071 or ehorchy@suncoastnews.com.

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