A Florida city is weighing whether to trade a public golf course for a tournament destination, and the vote that moved the idea forward approved talks, not a project. On October 14, the Clearwater City Council voted 4-0 to move forward with a proposed $180 million sports and entertainment complex at The Landings Golf Course, FOX 13 reported. The plan comes from Sunshine Recreational and Entertainment LLC, a team led by Porter Development, per the city's Oct 14 council records, and would replace the 56-year-old course on 77 city-owned acres with pickleball courts, volleyball courts and a water park.
The $180 million figure led most of the coverage. The more useful detail is what the vote left out. FOX 13 reported that the vote allows city officials to negotiate with the developer but "does not authorize construction," and council members told Bay News 9 that it "did not approve the proposed change." Everything that would decide the city's return on 77 public acres, from the land terms to financing to who runs the venue, is still ahead of the negotiation the council just opened.
What the Council Approved
Per FOX 13, the vote marks a major step toward transforming the city-owned property, but additional studies, negotiations and approvals are still required before the complex could be built. Bay News 9 reported that the proposal would turn the course into a sports complex with indoor and outdoor areas, and that council members said the next step is to speak with developers about addressing community concerns.
Council members spoke in favor of continuing the process, citing the revenue the facility could help generate, Bay News 9 reported. Some supporters also said a local complex would cut the long travel distances families now make to similar facilities elsewhere.
Neither news report names an operator or says whether the land would be leased or sold, or on what terms. The vote itself is the start of those negotiations rather than the outcome of them.
Supporters and the Neighborhood
FOX 13 reported that supporters believe the project could attract youth sports tournaments, boost tourism and give Clearwater families more recreational options. Joshua Borne, speaking in support, put the case in economic terms.
"When a community builds a quality sports venue, the economic and social return is real and immediate," Borne said, per Bay News 9. "Families travel, hotels fill, restaurant and retail benefit."
The organized opposition comes from Keep Keene Green, a neighborhood group whose co-founder, Melissa Stamos, lives four doors from the course, according to FOX 13.
"This is an immense, immense development project that is going to seriously affect the quality of our lives," Stamos told FOX 13. "You are talking bright stadium lights, 2,000 cars into our small neighborhood, astroturf, possible flooding."
Speaking at the meeting, Stamos also challenged the financial case, Bay News 9 reported: "Where in the financial presentation is the cost of residents losing the enjoyment of their homes they work their entire lives to afford." FOX 13 said the group plans to stay involved as the project moves through the approval process. Bay News 9 reported that opponents raised concerns about environmental changes and event traffic near the surrounding neighborhoods.
Public Land, Private Developer
The structure is what makes the proposal worth watching for investors. The land is public, and the proposed developer is private. That arrangement shifts the key questions to the deal terms: how long the developer would control the site, what it would pay the city, who would carry construction and operating risk, and whether any public money would be part of the financing. None of those terms has been set in the reporting so far, because the council has only now authorized negotiations.
The $180 million figure in the coverage rounds the proposal's own budget, which the council record puts at $179,620,923, with a schedule running from 2027 to 2030. The proposal also includes an economic impact summary that the developer hired The Sports Facilities Companies to produce in October 2025. That's the same venue planning and management firm that appeared in Youth Sports Investor Report's October 15th issue, and the proposal names it as the study's author, not as the complex's operator. No operator has been named.
Buying Sandlot included the vote in its October 16 roundup of facility news, alongside other Florida and Louisiana projects.
Takeaways for Investors
The Vote Approved Talks, Not a Project
FOX 13 reported that the 4-0 vote does not authorize construction, and council members told Bay News 9 it did not approve the proposed change. Further studies, negotiations and approvals are still required.
The Land Terms Are the Deal
The 77 acres are city-owned. Whether the land is leased or sold, on what terms, and who carries the risk haven't been made public, and those terms will decide what the city gets back for giving up a 56-year-old public golf course.
No Operator Has Been Named
Neither the coverage nor the proposal names who would run the complex day to day. For a venue built around tournaments, the operator choice shapes the event calendar and the revenue case.
The Neighborhood Is Organized
Keep Keene Green says it will stay involved through the approval process. Traffic, lighting and flooding concerns are already on the record, and each later approval gives the group another opening.
