Delve into 12: Premier Sports Campus

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Fifteen months ago, Lakewood Ranch resident Tim Mulqueen had a vision.

Shortly after his wife, Kathleen, showed him an article in the East County Observer about how Schroeder-Manatee Ranch was planning to build a multi-purpose sports campus in Lakewood Ranch, the former professional soccer player and current youth coach and United States national team goalkeeper coach put his vision in writing.

He then took that vision to SMR President and CEO Rex Jensen. In February 2011, Mulqueen was named the new director of sports.

The Premier Sports Campus at Lakewood Ranch officially opened in April 2011, with the Florida Youth Soccer Association State Cup, which drew 64 teams from across the state to the area.
Since then, there’s rarely a weekend that goes by that some type of sporting event isn’t taking place.

MAKING AN IMPACT
With Celebration-seeded grass on 22 fields and more than 140 acres, Premier affords teams the opportunity to play their entire tournament in one spot without having to travel to multiple sites across the county.

Additionally, the 22 regulation size fields can be reconfigured to up to 35 smaller fields, allowing younger athletes to play as well.

During the past eight months, Premier has been the site of the Manatee County Cross Country Championships, the 3d Blue Chip Lacrosse national recruiting camp and the Labor Day Nike Cup Soccer Tournament, which brought in nearly 19,000 amateur athletes and fans and generated more than $8 million in economic impact to the region.

Most recently, the U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team visited Premier for the 2011 Development Academy Winter Showcase and Nike International Friendlies. The weeklong event was U.S. Soccer’s most highly attended showcase, with 21,000 people coming to Lakewood Ranch to see the action — 6,000 of whom attended the championship game between the U.S. and Brazil.

Soccer players, coaches and fans filled shops, restaurants and hotels from Venice to Lakewood Ranch and Bradenton, generating nearly $6 million in economic impact.

“It was really, really busy,” Chipotle Kitchen Manager Marisol Balente said. “We almost ran out of food — ran out of salsa, rice, ran out of everything. It’s a very good thing, and now, we have to hire more people because our sales are expected to go up.”

In an addition to soccer, the Premier Sports Campus is available to host a variety of sporting events, including field hockey, lacrosse, rugby, Ultimate Frisbee, flag and youth football, the senior games and more.

“Whatever you can do on a field of grass, you can do here,” Jensen said. “That’s a broad range of things.”
In 2012, 25 events already are scheduled at the Premier Sports Campus with a projected economic impact of more than $60 million.

PARTNERSHIPS
In addition to tournaments, Premier has become the second home for the Clearwater Chargers, the Manasota Lacrosse Club, the Manatee County YMCA’s YFL youth tackle football program, the Sarasota Saracens Rugby organization and Athletic Edge Sports.

“This place very soon will be the epicenter for amateur sports for this area,” Jensen said. “That’s not to take anything away from IMG (Academies), but we’ve got a broader advantage.

“We offer a high-quality elite type of service that’s really distinct,” he said. “It fills such a need, and we’re unveiling something new here almost every week.”

LOOKING AHEAD
In the coming year, Mulqueen plans to continue to build out the Premier Sports Campus and draw in as many events to the area as possible. Additionally, Mulqueen said plans for permanent concession stands, restrooms and office space also are in the works.

Currently, the Premier Sports Campus brings in portable locker rooms for players and coaches. Eventually, Mulqueen hopes to add more permanent structures for the teams.

“We’ll let the marketplace decide what they feel should be next,” Mulqueen said. “Lights (installed in September) were the No. 1 requirement. Now, a more permanent structure would be my hope.”

Additionally, Mulqueen wants to continue building the sports programs already in place while implementing some new sports, such as volleyball and Frisbee, along the way.

“I think we’re hitting all of the grass sports,” Mulqueen said. “We want to take local people and get them to invest their trust and to join Premier. We want to make sure the community feels like it is a part of this.

“The families with multiple kids go to one location now instead of having to get to different venues,” Mulqueen said. “It makes family life so much easier.”

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].

Premier Sports Campus at Lakewood Ranch 2012 Events
Jan. 6: 3d Blue Chip Lacrosse
Jan. 9: U.S. Soccer Women’s Olympic Team training
Jan. 20: 3d Blue Chip Lacrosse
March 9-12: Crown Cup Soccer
March 24-25: State Cup
April 22-24: Clearwater Easter Tournament
May 22-28: Crown Cup Finals
Sept. 3-6: Clearwater Labor Day Tournament
Nov. 19-21: Clearwater Thanksgiving High School Soccer Tournament

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