- July 31, 2026
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Negotiations for an ice rink at Premier Sports Campus North were suspended after a group of red-clad Lakewood Ranch residents presented a case for relocating the project.
Manatee County commissioners voted unanimously to explore alternative locations for the proposed 190,000-square-foot multiplex during the July 28 meeting.
County staff members were directed to return to the board at a later date to address all concerns brought forth by the public.
Before the meeting, the residents rallied support online, organized three in-person community meetings, emailed commissioners, collected more than 1,200 signatures for a petition and printed yard signs that read “Move the rink megaplex. Good project…wrong place.”
On July 28, the group lined up along Manatee Avenue West to wave the yard signs in front of the county administration building.
“I care deeply about my community, and I care deeply about the public process of governments,” Cresswind’s Kathy Flora said. “To me, that was democracy in action.”
Flora was a three-time state representative in New Hampshire. A former commercial real estate developer and a retired U.S. Navy JAG officer were also among the group.
As retirees, Flora said they have the time, energy, experience, and know-how to spur change on behalf of themselves and their neighbors who can't attend an 11-hour commission meeting on a Tuesday because they're working and raising kids.
The group banded together to argue that the scale of the project was too large for a residential area, the additional traffic would further stress surrounding roads and a commercial project doesn’t belong at the community park that was promised.
In 2021, Manatee County unveiled plans for Premier that included a dog park, BMX park, skate park, basketball courts, volleyball courts, an event lawn and more. The Lakewood Ranch Library and nearly finished athletics and aquatic center were on the list of amenities, too.
The current plan to build a multiplex was not quashed during the meeting. An ice facility could still be built at Premier, but Flora noted that victory was achieved when commissioners agreed to take a deeper look at the proposal.
“I don’t think all the commissioners were fully versed in the implications of the location that was selected,” Flora said. “Once they have all the information, I believe they’ll see that a lot of our speakers were raising issues that make (Premier) a less successful spot to build and that they have alternatives in the county that might make way more sense.”
Commissioner Bob McCann suggested the Bradenton Area Convention Center in Palmetto because of its infrastructure, but Commissioner George Kruse quickly shot that location down for a lack of land, shared parking with the Palmetto Marriott Resort & Spa, and the additional zoning that the city of Palmetto would require.
The discussion then shifted to the county-owned property near the Lena Road Landfill. Manatee County paid $32.5 million for 161 acres off Lena Road in 2020 with the intention to build a county complex.
In 2022, a new group of commissioners added the property to the county’s list of surplus properties. And in 2024, the current commission took the property off the surplus list.
Commissioners weren’t in a rush to build anything when removing the property from surplus, and there aren’t any pending projects listed on the county’s capital project dashboard.
With the ice rink slated for 22 acres at Premier, there’s plenty of space. Residents also argued that Lena Road is closer to the interstate and hotel accommodations.
Gordie Zimmermann, CEO and co-founder of Icemann Development LLC, didn't attend the meeting. The East County Observer reached out to Zimmermann, but didn't receive a response.
In addition to more tangible issues, such as potential fumes from a parking garage and home values decreasing, residents expressed frustration over being left out of the discussion, as did Commissioner Jason Bearden.
“I want to make sure that any business dealings, moving forward, that we’re aware of them,” Bearden said. “I don’t know if there are some things going on behind the scenes that (commissioners) are not being informed about.”
The first time the proposal was publicly discussed, McCann pulled it off a consent agenda in February to ensure public debate.
Item No. 11 on the Feb. 17 consent agenda was titled, “Consent to enter into economic stimulus public/private development agreement for ‘Project Grace’ and authorizing execution of the Economic Development Agreement.”
Cresswind’s Jim Flora noted that Project Grace sounds more like a church project than an ice rink.
Solera’s Tom Hirt called the proposal an “11th-hour surprise,' and Cresswind’s Michael Pecar asked commissioners to “give the 10,000 nearby homeowners a seat at the table.”
Commission Chair Tal Siddique agreed that projects being run through the Convention and Visitors Bureau need “public authorization."
“We don’t want to end up with another unauthorized project people find out about when the deal is put together,” he said. “That’s not fair for the public or (commissioners).”
Kruse argued that commercial uses were on the table since the additional 75 acres of Premier were first purchased in 2018, and in general terms, they were.
Former commissioner Betsy Benac was quoted in the East County Observer in September 2018 saying, “I hope when we get into the master planning that we look into the possibility of commercial opportunities. As I look at this very large acreage, we need to think outside the box of just government facilities.”
Although he didn't wear red, one member of the audience caught Bearden's attention — Matt Smith, president and owner of the Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex.
“Government is not supposed to compete with private industry, period,” Bearden said. “This is being subsidized by taxpayers. That’s hard to compete against.”
The preliminary deal with Icemann is that Manatee County will contribute $5 million of tourist development tax funds to the parking garage and lease the 22 acres to Icemann for $1 a year for the first three years.
The lease would increase to $100,000 in year four and increase by 2% thereafter unless the fair market value of the premises decreases from the prior year. In that case, the lease would stay equal to the immediately preceding year’s rent but never decrease.
In the 10 years that Smith has owned the Ellenton rink, he said he’s paid nearly $1.2 million in property taxes.
He argued that the “sweetheart deal” Icemann is receiving from Manatee County will put him out of business soon after he sinks $7 million into upgrading his facility.
Smith plans to break ground on renovations that include a third ice rink in January, which he noted will be paid for using only private money.
Smith questioned how a facility of that size will be able to break even before year six, which is the point when maintenance and repair expenses will be on the rise.
He noted that neither Icemann or Manatee County has provided any financial projections showing the multiplex can support itself.
Smith, 45, has experience in the industry beyond Ellenton. He owns the Space Coast Iceplex in Rockledge and has spent his life in ice rinks playing hockey, figure skating and coaching.
Smith was a competitive figure skater on Canada's national team in the early 1990s.
In his opinion, a four-rink multiplex with 2,500 seats is going to cost far more than Icemann's projected $80 million. He estimates the cost at over $110 million.
Kathy Flora questioned what happens if Icemann backs out because the ice complex isn't producing the expected numbers. Will Manatee County have to keep the facility running?
At the June 16 meeting, Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the land lease would be brought back to the board sometime in August or September.
The lease sets forth the terms, but it hasn't been finalized. However, public records show that a draft lease was prepared.
The draft shows that Manatee County would take control if Icemann were to back out of the deal.
If Icemann surrenders the premises because the lease expires or is terminated early, the county could opt to "accept" any structures Icemann built or require the company to demolish them.
If the county were to accept an occupied multiplex, Icemann would be expected to provide "transition services" that would make it easier for the county or a county-approved third party to take over operations.
In the case of the county terminating the lease within the initial term for any reason, including Icemann defaulting on the agreement, the county would have right of first refusal and approval rights.
If Icemann wanted to sell, assign or transfer its interests to a third party, the county would have 60 days to elect to acquire the "interests on the same terms and conditions as set forth (with the third party)."
If the county elects not to acquire the interests, the third party needs to be approved by the county in writing. The approval could be granted or withheld by the county.
Icemann has the option to terminate the lease prior to the start of construction.
Just before commissioners' final deliberation over the matter, Lakewood Ranch residents Theresa Keri and Jessica Wilson delivered a one-two punch to wrap up the argument for relocating the multiplex.
The women are not retirees, so they had to call into the meeting
Keri advises Fortune 100 companies on risk management, so she provided a comprehensive, 14-page risk assessment that included probabilities, risk levels, outcomes, comparisons and sourced research.
Wilson is a stay-at-home mom with 10 years experience in residential land development, so she dug into Florida statutes and Manatee County’s zoning and land development codes.
Wilson found that Policy 2.10.2.2 in the land development code limits medium commercial projects to 150,000 square feet of gross building area. She noted that the library is approximately 50,000 square feet.
The proposed multiplex is 190,000 square feet.
Wilson cited further policies that would not allow an arena with 2,500 seats to be built within the current mixed use community residential zoning.
The information led Siddique to a question he both asked and answered: If this was not county-owned land, would this project be approved today?
“I have a hard time finding an argument or evidence to support that because it doesn’t comply with parts of our code, which is what I really default to at the end of the day,” he said. “There is a valid question in there about why economic incentives are being provided on top of the nonconformance with our comp plan. Those are serious problems.”
