What will a Sunday afternoon look like on Wild Blue's side of Lorraine Road between late December and mid-April? For most of the winter, a short way up the road from the Blue Wave Drive entrance, Sundays will belong to the Sarasota Polo Club. Its 2027 season opens Sunday, Dec. 20, 2026, and runs until Thursday, April 15, 2027.
The match is easy to plan around. Gates open at 10 a.m. and play starts at 1 p.m. The harder choice comes earlier. The ticket you buy decides whether the dog can come, whether you can bring lunch, whether a grill is allowed, and whether the kids get in free. The season-long spaces along the South side of the field are already on a waitlist.
A Neighbor That Shares Your Road
Lakewood Ranch's directions to Wild Blue go east on University Parkway, south on Lorraine Road, then left onto Blue Wave Drive. The community map Lakewood Ranch publishes puts Wild Blue and the Sarasota Polo Club in the same University Parkway and Lorraine Road pocket.
The club's address is 8201 Polo Club Lane, Sarasota, FL 34240. Both entrances are on Lorraine Road. The south entrance is on Polo Club Lane and the north entrance is on Fieldside Drive. Wild Blue's entrance is also on Lorraine Road, so on match days the traffic arriving for polo shares your route home. The club's 2027 season schedule says Sunday matches draw "thousands of fans each week." Coach's Valet handles parking. Gates open three hours before the first throw-in, so the steady flow of cars on Lorraine Road starts in the late morning, well before play.
Seventeen Sundays, Then Five Thursdays
The club's published dates run Sunday matches every week from Dec. 20 through April 11. In the spring it adds Thursday Sunset Polo Happy Hour, every Thursday from March 18 through April 15.
| Format | Dates | Gates | Match | What's added |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday Polo | Dec. 20, 2026 to April 11, 2027 | 10 a.m. | 1 p.m. | Opening parade, live national anthem, theme weeks, halftime entertainment, divot-stomping |
| Thursday Sunset Polo Happy Hour | March 18 to April 15, 2027 | 4:30 p.m. | 5:30 p.m. | Same match-day traditions plus live music after the game |
Counted on a calendar, that's 17 Sundays and five Thursdays. The opener on Dec. 20 and the following match on Dec. 27 bracket Christmas, so the first two Sundays of the season fall in the middle of the holidays. If family is visiting that week, a polo match is a ready-made afternoon on your own stretch of Lorraine Road.
The Thursday matches change things for anyone who can't give up a Sunday. A 5:30 p.m. start with live music afterward makes polo an evening plan in spring, and the same schedule page says these matches draw "hundreds of fans each Thursday." That's a smaller crowd than the Sunday "thousands."
Lakewood Ranch's own polo page describes the day as tailgating fieldside while the match is played. Whether you can tailgate the way you have in mind depends on the ticket.
Each Ticket Tier Comes With Its Own Rules
For Sunday Polo, the club lists general admission, bleacher seats, fieldside reserved spaces, reserved midfield premium seating, group tents and VIP options. Several of the rules that shape the day, from food to pets, are set tier by tier.
| Ticket type | Kids 12 and under | What the club spells out |
|---|---|---|
| General admission | Free | Dog, food and drink rules follow the ticket description |
| Bleacher seats | Free | Dog, food and drink rules follow the ticket description |
| Fieldside reserved spaces | Free | Small portable grills allowed |
| Reserved midfield premium | Not on the free list | Dog, food and drink rules follow the ticket description |
| Group tents | Not on the free list | Dog, food and drink rules follow the ticket description |
| VIP Champagne Lounge | Not on the free list | Complimentary valet, pre-match polo demonstration, dedicated wait staff, dedicated restrooms |
Some rules apply to everyone. Outside alcohol isn't allowed anywhere on the grounds. Outside food and nonalcoholic drinks are allowed only for the ticket types whose descriptions permit them. If your idea of a polo Sunday is a spread you packed yourself, read the ticket description before you think about where on the field you want to be.
Dogs work the same way. The club's FAQ calls dogs "an important part of the Sarasota Polo Club culture" and welcomes well-socialized dogs on a leash at most ticket locations. It also says whether a dog is allowed "will be indicated on the ticket description for each ticket type." The same FAQ is strict about the leash:
"For everyone's safety, if a dog gets loose while on the Sarasota Polo Club grounds, the Sarasota Polo Club reserves the right to ask the dog and their owner to leave the facility."
For households with children, the free-admission rule covers general admission, bleachers and fieldside reserved spaces, and not the premium tiers. The club also points to themed halftime contests and a playground that stays open for the whole match. That gives younger children something to do between chukkers, beyond the halftime divot-stomp when guests are invited onto the field.
Season Spaces Are the Hard Part
Single-match tickets are only part of what's on offer. The club also sells fieldside reserved spaces for the whole season, and those don't go through the regular ticket platform. They're handled by email. South season spaces are on a waitlist. The club says a limited number of North season spaces can be bought by contacting it directly.
A season space means the same spot on the field every Sunday, and it's also the tier where the club allows small portable grills. Living a short drive down Lorraine Road makes it easy to come back week after week, which is what a season space is for. With the South side already wait-listed, the North side is the only place where a season space can still be bought rather than waited for. The club's email is [email protected] and its phone number is (941) 907-0000.
Single-match tickets go through the club's ticket platform. The ticket information page says tickets go live in fall 2026, and the FAQ says prices and descriptions appear on the platform once options are available. That ticket description is the document to read for dogs, food and drink.
Polo Season and the Club at Wild Blue
This season also overlaps with the arrival of Wild Blue's own gathering place. The Club at Wild Blue is a 30,000-square-foot lakefront building planned with dining, two swimming pools, a movie theater, a fitness center and a nine-hole putting course. In an Oct. 23 update, Stock Development still called it "soon-to-be-completed."
Polo's dates are fixed, with gates opening at 10 a.m. on Dec. 20. Once the clubhouse is open, the two will run side by side through April. One is a lakefront building with pools and a putting course inside the gates. The other is a field where thousands of people come together each Sunday, then hundreds on spring Thursdays.
If you want to start this season with a plan, here's the order to handle things in:
- Decide whether you want a season space. If you do, email the club about North season spaces, since the South side is wait-listed.
- Choose a tier for what you plan to bring. A grill points to a fieldside reserved space. Valet and a pre-match demonstration point to the VIP Champagne Lounge.
- Read the ticket description before you buy. That's where the club sets the dog rules and the food and nonalcoholic drink rules for each tier.
- Mark Dec. 20 and Dec. 27 if family is visiting for the holidays. Then hold March 18 for the first Thursday sunset match.
- Plan your drive with the 10 a.m. gate time in mind. Lorraine Road is the way in for match traffic and the way home for Wild Blue.
The club also asks guests to dress for the weather and remember they'll be walking on grass.
At Tonna Gruber, we follow the details that shape everyday life around Wild Blue, from the clubhouse schedule to the polo season down the road. If you're thinking about how those routines fit into owning a home here, or a second home nearby, we're glad to talk it through. Let Us Guide You Home.
