Clearwater’s planned Sports & Recreation Campus is growing to roughly $300 million, with a new 220,000-square-foot indoor fieldhouse adding basketball, volleyball, soccer and more to the project.
Clearwater-based Porter Development added the facility after residents asked for more indoor recreation, with plans for eight full-size basketball courts that can convert into 16 volleyball courts, plus space for flag football, cheerleading and gymnastics.
The changes extend to pickleball, with all 24 planned courts moving indoors at the Clearwater Racquet Club, which would also include four padel courts.
The larger campus would bring together outdoor sports, fitness and wellness facilities, dining, entertainment and a major water attraction.
The project would replace an existing golf course that developer Les Porter says currently pays no property taxes with a sports and entertainment development that would receive no tax exemptions.
Porter expects the redevelopment to bring new tax revenue and visitors to Clearwater, although the company has not provided estimates of future tax revenue or visitor spending.
The new fieldhouse could also double as an emergency operations center, with Porter hoping to work with Pinellas County on using the facility for staging, logistics and other operations before and after major storms.
The property sits about 70 feet above sea level next to Clearwater Executive Air Park, although no formal agreement with the county has been announced.
The plans also call for environmental work at the former golf course, including seeking brownfield designation for an existing landfill, carrying out environmental mitigation and replacing aging drainage and stormwater infrastructure.
Porter Development has not announced when construction would begin or when the campus might open.