Lakewood Ranch Gets Two New Places to Swim and Play Pickleball Before the Year Is Out. Only One of Them Is Free.

"Boring as walking trails and trees might be, people like green space," a Solera resident told Manatee County commissioners on Sept. 1, as reported by Your Observer. At that meeting the county ended negotiations for a 190,000-square-foot ice rink at Premier Sports Campus North. Residents then reminded the commission of the park amenities discussed when the county first bought the land. The vote left the future of the parcel beside the Lakewood Ranch Library open. By the end of the year, that parcel will hold the most affordable serious pool and pickleball setup in Lakewood Ranch.

That matters more because a premium alternative opens a few miles away tomorrow.

Two Openings, About Two and a Half Months Apart

Life Time Lakewood Ranch, at 5000 Lakewood Ranch Blvd N, is scheduled to open to the public at 4 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 12. Patch reported that the club has resort-style pools, 14 pickleball courts, fitness classes, spa services, and child care. A Life Time spokesperson told Patch that basic membership starts at $339 a month for one person, $499 for a dual membership, and $100 for junior members from 90 days to 11 years old.

Manatee County's Athletics & Aquatics Center at Premier Sports Campus North sits next to the Lakewood Ranch Library off Rangeland Parkway. It does not have a date yet. "We're just working on dates for a grand opening but aiming for the end of December," Molly White, the county's director of sports and leisure services, told the Bradenton Herald in an Oct. 5 report.

The two facilities overlap more than you might expect.

The free swimming isn't a launch promotion. Manatee County does not charge residents to use county pools. Teams pay for pool time and individuals do not, Your Observer reported in its Sept. 23 preview. The pickleball fees are set to match what the county charges at G.T. Bray Park, White told the Herald. Life Time sells a full athletic club with child care and spa services. Premier offers two specific things, a lap pool and a pickleball court, priced the way a public park prices them.

What the County Built Into the Details

Premier was designed around how the space will be used day to day, and the Observer's tour turned up many of the choices behind that. Palm trees shade the green areas because they don't drop leaves or flowers into the water. Artificial turf and mulch sit between the sidewalks so that real grass doesn't end up in the pools. The outdoor restrooms share one building but are split in two, so wet swimmers stay on one side and the pickleball floors stay dry.

On the courts. The number of open-play courts will change with the time of day, but some will always be open for drop-in play. The remaining courts are booked through the CourtReserve system. White told the Observer that staff will watch which times are most in demand so drop-in players still get a chance to play. A shaded hitting wall is being installed. Tennis courts didn't make the final plans, though there is room behind the pickleball courts for them if funding comes through. A concrete walking path circles one of the ponds behind the courts. Food trucks are also planned for the site.

In the water. The large pool is 50 meters long. It can be set up with eight lanes running the long way or about 18 running across, and a 25-by-15-foot scoreboard at one end can stream events live. Both pools have lifts for anyone who needs help getting in and out. A $1 million geothermal yard controls the water temperature. The site has more than 240 parking spaces.

The pool is 50 meters because residents asked for it. The county originally planned a 25-meter pool. Swimmers, coaches, and parents filled the commission chambers in 2021 to make the case for a competition-size pool, and some of them returned this past June to say thank you. The Lakewood Ranch Swim Association Lightning and the Sarasota Tsunami Swim Team, which now share lanes at the John Marble Aquatics Center, will share them at Premier as well. With the Parrish Bull Sharks, they are planning a swim meet for the grand opening. A Public Safety division chief told the Observer there will always be plenty of space between the two pools for both the public and the teams.

Everything Else Landing at Premier by New Year's

The pool is the headline, but it isn't the only thing coming to Premier North before January. According to the county's own timeline as reported by local outlets, the campus is due to add:

1. The Lakewood Ranch Library's second floor. It opens to the public in December. The adult collection is expected to move upstairs before the end of the year, which frees room downstairs for a larger children's area. The library's Friends group plans a cart of 10 laptops that patrons can borrow inside the library, Your Observer reported on Sept. 30.
2. Two synthetic soccer fields, forecast to be finished by year-end.
3. A Manatee County Sheriff's Office substation, on the same timeline.
4. A community room in the aquatics center. It can be rented for parties, can be split into two rooms that each have a TV, and has access to a catering kitchen. Floor-to-ceiling windows look out over the pools.

The library rooftop can also be rented. White has spent much of the past year and a half up there, because it has the best view of the construction.

Taken together, the library, the pool, the courts, the fields, and the rentable rooms put most of Lakewood Ranch's everyday public facilities on one parcel.

The Land Nobody Has Decided On

Manatee County bought the land that became Premier Sports Campus North from Schroeder-Manatee Ranch in two purchases, in 2017 and 2018. When it did, residents were told the land would eventually include a library, softball and baseball fields, a dog park, an amphitheater, and more. The library is open and the swim and pickleball complex is close. Most of the rest hasn't been built.

Residents brought that history to the Sept. 1 meeting. One speaker reminded commissioners that the county's tourism director had once said Premier Sports Campus South would be for economic development and Premier North would be for the community. The ice rink was dropped that day. A replacement plan was not adopted. Commissioners differed on next steps, and the Observer described some favoring a community workshop and others a master plan produced by staff. As of today we have found no later vote or adopted plan for the remaining acreage. The dog park, amphitheater, and ballfields are still resident requests, not county commitments.

Lakewood Ranch's best-equipped public pool and its largest set of public pickleball courts open in December beside land whose future could come up at any upcoming commission meeting.

Between Now and the Ribbon Cutting

Until Premier sets a date, here is what's on the calendar elsewhere in Lakewood Ranch from now through December:

• Oct. 24, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Dogs Inc opens its new visitor center at 5815 Lakewood Ranch Blvd with guide and service dog demonstrations and a chance to meet local puppy raisers.
• Oct. 30, 6–9 p.m. BooFest returns to Main Street with trick-or-treating, a kids' zone, and live music. Entry is free.
• Dec. 5–6, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. The Lakewood Ranch Holiday of the Arts brings artist booths to Main Street. Admission is free.
• Dec. 19–20, 4–8 p.m. Christmas on Main has free rides and games, Santa, and a candlelight service.

Christmas on Main lands just ahead of the late-December window the county is targeting for Premier's grand opening. White has said she pictures that opening as a community celebration, with open play on the pickleball courts and local swimmers diving into the competition pool.

New public amenities on the way can change how a neighborhood's daily routines look, and which parts of Lakewood Ranch sit closest to them. If you'd like a clear read on how projects like Premier North fit into your own plans, Tonna Gruber and the Let's Move team are glad to talk it through. Let Us Guide You Home.