Manatee County Kills $80M Ice Rink Plan for Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch

Manatee County commissioners voted unanimously on September 1 to end negotiations with Icemann Development LLC over an $80 million indoor ice rink complex proposed for county park land in Lakewood Ranch, killing a project that had divided neighbors and drawn sharp criticism from the board itself.

The proposal, called "Project Grace," would have put a roughly 190,000-square-foot, four-rink sports multiplex on 22 acres of Premier Sports Campus North, near the intersection of Rangeland Parkway and Uihlein Road. Plans called for athletic training space, food and retail, and an 800-space parking garage, all privately funded and built on land the county already owns as parkland.

Commissioner Bob McCann had raised concerns as far back as July, when the board voted to pause talks and told county staff to look at other sites. "Premier Park was supposed to be a county park for county people," McCann said, according to the developer's public remarks at the meeting, questioning why a private company would get to build on it.

Icemann Development, led by CEO Gordie Zimmermann, refused to consider any location other than Premier Sports Campus North. That refusal, combined with the absence of a formal site plan or business application, left county staff unable to answer basic questions about traffic, stormwater and environmental impact before the vote.

A developer under pressure

The September 1 meeting turned tense. Commissioner Jason Bearden pressed Zimmermann repeatedly for a break-even analysis and a formal business plan, telling him bluntly that jumping into a deal of this size without one made no sense for the county. Zimmermann said he had a 10-year business plan and expected the rink to turn a profit within three years, and argued the project would be "nationally recognized" for the community.

Bearden also raised a competitive concern: that a new county-subsidized rink could pull business from Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex, a private rink that has operated in Manatee County for years. Nicole Knapp, the county's director of development services, told commissioners the proposed rink would function more like a mid-sized facility such as Ellenton Ice than a "major attractor," undercutting Zimmermann's pitch that it needed to be built at Premier Sports Campus to succeed.

Neighboring residents had opposed the project for weeks before the vote, citing traffic on Rangeland Parkway and Uihlein Road, stormwater runoff, and the loss of open park space to a private commercial building. That opposition, paired with the board's frustration over the lack of a formal application, left commissioners with little appetite to keep negotiating.

Where the ice rink goes now

It doesn't go to Lakewood Ranch. Instead, Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex, an existing rink elsewhere in Manatee County, is moving ahead with its own expansion that has nothing to do with Icemann's proposal. Owner Matt Smith said the complex has spent eight months planning a $7 million renovation that will add a third sheet of ice and an NHL-level training facility. General Manager Emma Chinault said the added ice is meant to keep up with growing hockey and figure skating programs in the region. The new sheet is expected to open around August 2027, with the full expansion finished by 2028.

For Premier Sports Campus North, the county has not announced any new plans for the 22 acres that were set aside for Project Grace. The land remains part of the county park system, and commissioners gave no indication during the September 1 meeting that another private development proposal is in the works for that site.

Stay connected with Lakewood Ranch Community Website for updates on what comes next for Premier Sports Campus, and join the conversation in our Community Forum to share your take on the county's decision. For more coverage of local government decisions affecting the Ranch, visit our government and politics section, or check out our community news page for other stories shaping the neighborhood.