Dad unveils plans for private sports complex in northeast Pasco

By LAURA KINSLER | The Tampa Tribune
Published: August 19, 2012 Updated: August 19, 2012 - 12:00 AM

DARBY --

As the negotiations for a $14 million youth sports complex drag on for a fourth month between Pasco County and Wiregrass Ranch, another proposal has quietly surfaced for a private complex in rural northeast Pasco.

Dan DeMarco, who owns a Lutz-based charter fishing business, has a contract to buy 41 acres at the intersection of Bellamy Brothers Boulevard and Radloff Lane and is applying for a road variance to accommodate traffic for his proposed eight-field complex.

DeMarco said he isn't asking for county funds. His project is financed and will be privately run. It came about because of a negative experience he had at a county park with his daughter, who plays travel team softball.

"I'm pitching a softball to my daughter and two guys came over who tell me the field was leased to them," he said. "You pay taxes and you pay for the upkeep on parks, and then you take your kid to a park and they treated you like a criminal because you want to use the batting cages."

DeMarco is not asking to rezone the property; the park is allowed under its current agricultural zoning. He just needs a special exception because the main road to the park is two feet too narrow, Zoning Administrator Debra Zampetti said. The request will go to the planning commission in September.

The site plan calls for seven baseball/softball diamonds and a large field that could be used for up to six football, soccer or lacrosse fields. DeMarco plans to lease the complex for weekend tournaments and open e the fields to local teams for practices.

"It's going to be open to the public but not a public park," he said. "It's already financed; it's just a matter of does the county say yes or does the county say no."

County Parks Director Rick Buckman said there's a market for such a complex, even though it's considerably smaller than the proposed Fields at Wiregrass, which would feature up to 20 sports fields. Pasco commissioners have pledged up to $14 million toward the project, if they can agree on terms.

"We were a little amazed that all of this happened and it came out of nowhere," Buckman said. "Here we are for the last three years trying to build a park and give it away to someone to run. And these guys show up and say they have a plan and they're going to make it happen."

DeMarco's land planner, Michael Horner, said the complex would be leased for weekend tournaments 30 to 46 weekends per year. Buckman said the county's tourism office would help market it, even though it could be in competition with the county-subsidized Fields at Wiregrass for some tournaments.

"They would be drawing from the same pool, at least to some degree," Buckman said.

But unlike the Fields at Wiregrass, which would be lighted to accommodate television, DeMarco's park would keep its lighting "dark-sky compliant" to minimize its impact in the neighborhood.

"It's going to be a low-key, low-impact affair," Horner said.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tbo/pasco/~3/3K6zM-72zN4/

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