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Ice Rinks, Bowling, Laser Tag Proposed Near Grove Mall

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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 22, 2008

WESLEY CHAPEL - A Clearwater-based consortium has proposed building a sports complex worth more than $40 million on Oakley Boulevard near The Grove shopping mall.

Developers Val Bain and Patrick DeLorenzo recently pitched to County Commissioner Pat Mulieri their proposal for SportsPlex USA, a 288,000-square-foot indoor facility.

The complex would house three ice rinks - two of them built to National Hockey League standards - plus 36 lanes of bowling, rock climbing, a two-level laser tag venue and an 18-hole miniature golf course.

The three-floor complex also would include a 6,500-square-foot restaurant, coffee bar and event space for birthday parties and corporate meetings.

Bain said he hopes to begin work on the $31.5 million first phase of the project this fall. He said the developers will present their plans to the county for review in the next few months.

The second phase, to feature an indoor water park and a hotel, is slated for a later date.

The proposed complex would sit on 22 acres on the west side of Oakley Boulevard roughly across from the section of The Grove that includes Dick's Sporting Goods, Bain said.

The developers expect to spend nearly $10 million for the property, according to their proposal.

Bain and DeLorenzo pitched the project to Mulieri at the end of May, about two weeks after county officials rejected a sports complex proposed by Sportsplex USA.

Bain said his company shares a name with, but is otherwise not connected to, the California-based company, which was passed over in favor of a proposal by Big League Dreams USA, also from California.

"It's only a coincidence," Bain said of the shared name. "We only registered our name in Florida."

Bain and DeLorenzo's proposal is the latest attempt to bring an ice arena to fast-growing central Pasco.

Last year David Beaudin, who operates a skating rink in Oldsmar, pushed plans for a $10 million rink in Land O' Lakes off U.S. 41 and Tower Road. That project hasn't moved forward since it was first pitched to the Tourist Development Council.

At the time, Beaudin told county officials that interest in hockey was exceeding the rink space available in the Tampa Bay region.

Wesley Chapel's recent growth spurt - now largely slowed to a crawl - makes the area a prime location for a sport complex, Bain said.

"It's a growing area," he said. "A lot's going to happen up there."

Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 948-4201 or kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com.

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