- March 11, 2026
-
-
Loading
Loading
Despite objections from nearby residents, Manatee County is moving ahead with plans to build three youth baseball fields at Country Club East Park.
The $7.2 million project will include three youth baseball fields, lights, bleachers, dugouts, backstops, restrooms, perimeter fencing, expanded parking and a 2,000-square-foot maintenance building that will include an office area and air conditioning.
Objections from residents included a lack of transparency by the county, conflicts of interest in saying a county official had a stake in the construction process, an exorbitant $7.2 million price tag, and that the ballfields don't fit Manatee County’s own definition of a “local park,” which is to serve “the population of a neighborhood or community in the radius of up to one and one-half miles.”
However, many Lakewood Ranch families involved with the Lakewood Ranch Little League program were elated by the Manatee County Commission’s 5-1 vote in favor of the fields at the March 3 meeting.
The Little League program does not have enough fields to accommodate the more than 700 children who want to participate. The lack of field space also causes some families to drive outside the area for games and practices.
“I encourage all residents to come out and watch these kids, ages 4-14, playing sports,” Lakewood Ranch’s Marcie Hackman said. “There is no bigger joy than being a parent or (grandparent) and seeing kids having youthful, innocent fun.”
In contrast, though, several residents living in Country Club East, along with parents with children attending Robert Willis Elementary School next door to the park, said they found joy in the passive nature of the space.
They said they want the kids to get their fields, just not at Country Club East Park.
“The park will no longer be a gathering place to run and play, but a fortress reserved for children in Little League at the expense of those who are not,” said Nancy Haas, president of the Country Club East Homeowners Association. “Do you think that’s fair?”
Commissioner George Kruse does think it’s fair because he said it is a county park meant to serve all county residents, not just those who live in Country Club East.
He told Country Club East residents that it’s not their park and that the county was more thoughtful than he would have preferred by limiting construction to three fields instead of four.
“This is supposed to be a clover — four fields — because we have a massive lack of Little League fields,” Kruse said. “These are positive things for the community, and if people can’t understand that, I’m sorry.”
The only vote cast against the project came from Commissioner Bob McCann, who said the county didn’t make a concession by going from four fields to three. He said the 15-acre park doesn’t allow the space needed for four fields.
But McCann's bigger issue is why the county couldn’t make everybody happy.
“One of the things that angers me about this county is the attitude of ‘We’re going to do this, and if you don’t like it — tough,’” McCann said.
The fields were originally approved as part of the 2023-2028 Capital Improvement Plan in September 2022. What went before commissioners March 3 was the guaranteed maximum price for construction, an item that is typically reserved for the consent agenda.
McCann told Deputy County Administrator Bryan Parnell that he was going to pull the item from consent, so the item was put on the regular agenda for discussion.
Parnell’s children play for Lakewood Ranch Little League and his wife, Lindsay Champion, is the league's secretary.
Country Club East's Darrel Drury questioned if Parnell, who oversees the Sports and Leisure department, was working behind the scenes to push the project forward.
The first time Drury heard about the ball fields was when the county hosted a community information session at the Lakewood Ranch Library Aug. 18, 2025.
However, Parnell was not employed by Manatee County until October 2023, nearly a full year after the project was first proposed.
Commissioner Jason Bearden told residents if they wanted to blame someone for the project, they could blame him.
“I’m the one who pushed it,” Bearden said. “The reason why is because I had a son that couldn’t play baseball because of the waiting list, and we needed baseball fields.”
But Drury contends that Parnell stands to personally benefit from the ball fields being closer to his home in the Isles at Lakewood Ranch. Currently, his children have to practice at Buffalo Creek Park in Palmetto.
Casey Zempel, communications manager for Manatee County, noted that staff does not independently build parks or add amenities. They present recommendations to commissioners, who then vote to approve or deny the project.
Drury cited conflicts of interest with the builder, Willis A. Smith Construction, Inc., too.
Nathan Carr is both the vice president of Lakewood Ranch Little League and a vice president at Willis Smith.
After it was clear they didn’t have enough votes on the commission to stop the ball fields, Drury and some other residents brought the matter to the Manatee County Government Efficiency Liaison Committee, where they encountered another Willis Smith vice president — David Otterness.
“I’m going to raise the question of Sunshine laws, whether there was any violation there,” Drury said. “This needs to be brought out in the light of day. It’s just not right.”
While the liaison committee decided the issue was beyond its purview, McCann agrees with residents that $7.2 million is too much to spend on three youth baseball fields.
“For that price, every kid should have a golden glove,” he said. “Why do kids need $7 million fields?”
McCann said the county needs to make the bidding process more competitive to include companies outside of Manatee County, or Florida, if needed.
Beyond price, McCann said the county could have looked elsewhere for space to accommodate both sides.
He also said that the location of Country Club East Park off The Masters Avenue is problematic because it will drive more traffic onto the already congested corridor of Lorraine Road between State Road 64 and State Road 70 because most of the players will be driving from neighborhoods in the surrounding area.
In McCann's opinion, the Premier Sports Campus or Greenbrook Adventure Park are better options, but a far less expensive option would have been to work within the county's interlocal agreement with the school board to use high school baseball fields. The bases can be moved closer together to accommodate younger players.
Country Club East resident Mark Morrisey told commissioners that Country Club East Park was a bad choice because of nearby wetlands. He said the high-intensity fields will "obliterate the pristine wetlands and tranquility of the area."
“This just isn’t fair to the people that live (in Country Club East),” McCann said. “Obviously, I want everybody to be able to play baseball, but the thing is that we really need to start listening to the people in this county.”
