Deal for polo club falls apart

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Developer David Meunier's dreams for the Sarasota Polo Club were big. He didn't realize the project to reach those dreams would be just as big.

Meunier recently announced he has decided to opt out of the deal he had struck with Manatee County-based Schroeder-Manatee Ranch to buy the Sarasota Polo Club. A 90-day due diligence phase expired last week and Meunier asked for an extension as he struggled to make up his mind.

"In the end, the task was much bigger than I anticipated," Meunier told the East County Observer, sister paper of the Business Observer. "I asked for 100 days (in the due diligence phase) because I wanted to find other scenarios where I could make this work. But I didn't want to hold up SMR with the polo season coming up."