A new professional football league will soon call Lakewood Ranch and Manatee County home according the press materials passed out in advance of press conference today. Major League Football (MLFB) is expected to announce that it will locate its new headquarters and training facilities in Lakewood Ranch. MLFB expects to have 10 teams with each team bringing 80 players to our area each training season.
MLFB looked at Arizona, Texas and Orlando in addition to Lakewood Ranch. But with the Manatee Commission approval this week of a $200,000-plus incentive package, the deal has been settled. The new football league reportedly selected the Lakewood Ranch location for several reasons but clearly one of those reasons is the availability of the Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch.
Frank Murtha, senior executive vice president for Major League Football said that the league has talked to Premier Sports Campus about using its fields for the league's spring training camp, which will be held each year in February and March.
"The first thing that got us to look at the Lakewood Ranch location is the Premier Sports Campus and the fields located there, which would obviously have the capacity to have all 10 teams training and practicing in one location. That and the geographic proximity to air transportation were certainly factors,” Murtha said. He also commented that “even beyond all that, though, the sports mentality of Manatee and Sarasota counties, the whole area, is what attracted us."
Murtha said that the league has taken some giant steps and is hoping to finalize a few remaining matters in the very near future including the availability of office and local hotel space."
The move of Major League Football to Lakewood Ranch is yet another step in the transformation of the Sarasota - Manatee County into a major U.S. sporting venue. This announcement follows the announcement a few months ago of the transformation of Nathan Benderson Park into the Number 1 competitive rowing facility in North America and the site of the 2017 World Rowing Championships.
Golf, polo, spring training baseball, tennis and all sorts of water sports and powerboat racing are already well established in this area. Bringing Major League Football and world class rowing competition will further enhance the reputation of this area as a top-notch sporting mecca.
If participating in or just enjoying watching top notch sporting events is something you enjoy, you’ll find this area very attractive. Contact Me on my Sarasota & Lakewood Ranch real estate website or call me at 941.228.2321 for more information.
