Clearwater residents living near The Landings golf course are organizing against a proposal that could convert the 77-acre, city-owned property into a $180 million multiuse sports complex, with a deadline for competing bids less than a month away.

The city is accepting sealed proposals for the property until 10 a.m. Sept. 21. As of Aug. 25, the city had received no proposals beyond the original submission from Les Porter. Depending on how many proposals are received, the City Council may take up the project again at an October meeting, though no date has been set.

Natalie Waterman, a resident who lives near the course off North Keene Road, said she would leave the neighborhood if the project moves forward.

“My No. 1 concern is traffic ... This neighborhood will not be residential anymore. It’s going to be congested. You don’t put something like this in a residential neighborhood,” Waterman told Tampa Bay 28.

Robin Benoit, another neighbor, said people want the basics: green space, trees and water quality, not more development.

What’s on the table

Porter, a Clearwater-based developer, pitched the complex through his company, Sunshine Recreational and Entertainment LLC. The plan calls for 13 playing fields, 24 pickleball courts, 12 sand volleyball courts, a water area with a lazy river, two 18-hole putting courses and a 5,000-seat stadium. Construction would take about three years.

The developers project the complex would serve 1.5 million visitors, generate $566 million in economic benefit over 10 years and create more than 600 jobs. Porter would seek roughly $45 million from Pinellas County’s tourist development tax and fund the rest through loans and private equity.

Under the lease terms, Porter’s LLC would pay the city $20,000 a month but owe no rent for the first five years because of upfront costs. Payments would increase gradually over the following 15 years. An advisory group told the city that Clearwater would receive lower revenue during the initial 20 years because the golf course currently produces some profit. Porter has said the complex would generate more than $2 million in property taxes, with about $600,000 to $700,000 a year flowing to Clearwater’s general fund.

Council vote and conflicts

The City Council voted 3-0 on Aug. 6 to continue reviewing Porter’s proposal and open a 30-day competitive-bidding window, as reported by the Tampa Bay Beacons. Rector and Mannino recused themselves from the item. Rector serves as general counsel for The Sports Facilities Companies, a management firm involved in the project. Mannino sought guidance from the Florida Commission on Ethics because he coaches part time for a soccer club that could use the complex.

Council member Lina Teixeira stressed at the Aug. 6 meeting that the vote was procedural. “This is not a vote to approve the project,” she said, according to the Beacons’ Aug. 14 report.

Neighborhood opposition

Residents formed Keep Keene Green in 2020 to fight a referendum that would have leased the course for a light industrial complex. Voters rejected that plan. The group has stayed active and now opposes Porter’s proposal.

Melissa Stamos, a Keep Keene Green member, said in the Beacons’ Aug. 14 coverage: “We appreciate that the developer has made efforts to address neighborhood concerns ... However, we do not believe those mitigation efforts will eliminate the impacts of this project. Traffic remains traffic. Noise remains noise. Bright lights remain bright lights.”

Porter’s team said in late July that it had agreed to close a planned ingress-egress point on Airport Drive to keep event traffic off smaller community roads, according to Tampa Bay 28’s earlier reporting. The proposal also includes cleaning up an old landfill on the property’s northern 22 acres. The city determined a public referendum is not required because the land remains zoned for open space, which permits parks and recreation.

Porter previously tried to build a sports complex in Largo, but voters rejected that plan in a 2022 referendum.

What’s next

Sealed proposals are due by 10 a.m. Sept. 21 at Clearwater City Hall. All proposals will be disclosed after the solicitation window closes. Depending on the response, the City Council may discuss the project again in October, though no meeting date has been announced.