- June 23, 2026
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An approximately $80 million indoor sports multiplex project that features several ice rinks is moving forward in east Manatee County, after commissioners unanimously approved a motion June 16 in support of the public-private partnership.
Wesley Chapel-based Icemann Development will design, build, maintain and operate the venue, which is being planned for land owned by Manatee County near the Lakewood Ranch Library at Premier Sports Campus North.
“We’ve got a lot of experience in the building process,” Icemann Development CEO Gordon Zimmermann told Manatee County commissioners at their June 16 meeting. His firm built the TGH Iceplex, where the Tampa Bay Lightning train near Brandon. It also built, owns and operates the 150,000-square-foot AdventHealth Center Ice in Wesley Chapel.
A rendering presented to the commissioners showed the complex in Lakewood Ranch would occupy roughly 190,000 square feet.
“We're doing a few more facilities in the state of Florida, but this is our prized area that we've always wanted to be in,” Zimmermann said of Lakewood Ranch. “The Lightning are deeply excited about it. We have a medical partner that wants to align with us,” and there will be opportunities for sponsorship with naming rights at the facility, subject to county approval.
The facility would be able to host sports like hockey, figure skating, curling, basketball, volleyball, cheer and dance, as well as consumer shows, tournaments and community events. In addition, it could be used as an emergency shelter, if county officials authorize it.
Zimmermann said third-party renters, such as roller hockey groups, bring their own sports court panels to cover the ice.
Free surface parking would be available and so would an 800-spot paid parking garage. A garage was something the county had been interested in building but was not sure how to fund, Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, told county commissioners.
“Surprisingly, [in] this deal, the private sector would pay for it,” Falcione said. “That vertical structure and that invaluable land would help us when we're hosting golf championships at The Concession … or other types of events when we're searching for parking in that very popular area of the county.”
According to the county’s business terms, it would receive 20% of gross parking garage revenues starting in year two of opening.
“Time is of the essence,” Falcione told county commissioners in presenting the project.
Icemann Development “has investors ready to invest” in the project and has preapproval from the bank, which “needs you all to consider this to continue to move the ball forward,” Falcione said before commissioners voted to authorize the county administrator to advance the proposal. That includes agreeing to specific business terms such as a 60-year land lease for a 22-acre county-owned parcel on the Premier Sports Campus North.
“The construction cost for this model is in [the] $75 to probably $85 million range,” Falcione said, calling the public-private partnership a “very unique opportunity.”
Manatee County’s Tourist Development Council recommended in April to provide up to $5 million for horizontal infrastructure through the Tourist Development Tax on a reimbursement basis.
Falcione emphasized the importance of sports tourism to the county’s economy. Tourism has three segments in Manatee County, he said: leisure, which generates $1.95 billion in economic impact a year; sports, which brings in $400 million annually; and corporate, which nets $100 million a year.
“What's amazing is that [the Premier Sports campus] in 2025 generated about $100 million for the local economy,” Falcione said.
Once it is built, Falcione said the multiplex would have a projected $30 million economic stimulus impact annually, according to Tallahassee market research firm Downs & St. Germain.
“I think it’s going to drive a lot of tourism dollars,” Commissioner George Kruse said in support of the project. “The goal of Premier is to have everything be tournament level,” which he said aligns with what the multiplex would offer.
Kruse did have one request regarding sponsorship opportunities. “Don’t include Sarasota” in the name, he said.
“We'll make sure that it integrates with the county brand [and] Lakewood Ranch,” Falcione said. The county attorney would help to create language around naming opportunities, he added.
Manatee County plans to lease 22 acres on the Premier Sports Campus North to Wesley Chapel-based Icemann Development so the company can build and operate an indoor sports multiplex there.
According to the county's proposed terms, it would lease the land to the developer for $1 a year for the first three years. That would “give the private company a chance to ramp up” as it builds out the project, said Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Elliott Falcione.
Starting in year four, the lease would be for $100,000 a year; then in years five and thereafter, rent would increase 2% unless the fair market value of the premises decreases from the prior year, in which case it would remain equal to the immediately preceding year’s rent.
There would be a 30-year lease extension, subject to Icemann’s or the tenant’s compliance with lease requirements.
Manatee County would also receive 20% of gross parking garage revenues starting in year two of the facility's opening.
This article originally appeared on sister site BusinessObserverFL.com.
