- August 3, 2026
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Negotiations for an ice rink and multisport complex in Lakewood Ranch have been suspended, as Manatee County commissioners voted unanimously July 28 to explore alternative locations for the proposed $80 million, 190,000-square-foot project.
In addition, county staff members were directed to return to the commission at a later date to address all concerns brought forth by the public during the July 28 meeting — which lasted 11 hours.
The vote, at least for now, halts what the same commissioners approved less than two months ago. Then, at a June 16 meeting, commissioners unanimously approved a motion in support of the public-private partnership. The preliminary plan was to lease 22 acres on the Premier Sports Campus North to Wesley Chapel-based Icemann Development so the company could build and operate an indoor sports multiplex there. 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.
According to the county's proposed terms, it would lease the land, off State Road 70 and just east of the fast-growing SR 70/Lorraine Road intersection, 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, Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Elliott Falcione told commissioners at the June meeting.
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.
Another part of the preliminary deal included Manatee County contributing $5 million of tourist development tax funds to an 800-spot parking garage
Gordie Zimmermann, CEO and co-founder of Icemann Development LLC, didn't attend the meeting. The East County Observer, sister paper of the Business Observer, reached out to Zimmermann, but didn't receive a response to a request for comment.
Icemann 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.
“We're doing a few more facilities in the state of Florida, but this is really our prized area that we've always wanted to be in,” Zimmermann told Manatee commissioners at the June 16 meeting. “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.
But before the meeting, some 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 in downtown Bradenton, outside the county commission meeting, to wave the yard signs.
“I care deeply about my community, and I care deeply about the public process of governments,” says Lakewood Ranch resident Kathy Flora. “To me, that was democracy in action.”
As retirees, Flora says 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.
Flora was a three-time Republican state representative in New Hampshire, among other jobs, prior to retiring. A former commercial real estate developer and a retired U.S. Navy JAG officer were also among the group.
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 notes 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 says. “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.”
Another issue that came up at the meeting was directed more toward the agreement itself, rather than the location.
That came from Matt Smith, president and owner of the Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex — a competing facility 15 miles north of Premier.
Smith says in the 10 years he's owned the Ellenton rink, he’s paid nearly $1.2 million in property taxes. He adds that he plans to break ground on renovations in January, including adding a third ice rink, in a $7 million project with no outside investors.
Smith contends the “sweetheart deal” Icemann is receiving from Manatee County will put him out of business — even after he completes the renovations.
A competitive figure skater on Canada's national team in the early 1990s, Smith questioned how a facility of the size of the one planned at Premier will be able to break even before year six, which is the point when maintenance and repair expenses will be on the rise.
Smith, who owns the Space Coast Iceplex in Rockledge in addition to Ellenton, also estimates the project will cost closer to $110 million, not $80 million. And he notes neither Icemann nor Manatee County has provided any financial projections showing the multiplex can support itself.
Manatee County Commissioner Jason Bearden seemed to empathize with Smith's position at the July 28 meeting. “Government is not supposed to compete with private industry, period,” Bearden says. “This is being subsidized by taxpayers. That’s hard to compete against.”
A version of this article originally appeared on sister site YourObserver.com.
