Homestead council approves ground lease for $275 million sports complex at Homestead Regional Park

The Homestead City Council on July 30 approved a resolution authorizing a ground lease and development agreement with VSGS Facilities LLC to develop a multipurpose sports facility, stadium, sports academy and related improvements at Homestead Regional Park.

The 7-0 vote followed presentations by the city administration and the developer team, public comments from nearby property interests and community groups, and a brief council discussion about park hours, naming-rights restrictions and school access.

The lease and development agreement — described in the resolution read into the record — commit the developer to provide guaranteed public access to specified fields and park amenities (listed in Exhibit H of the draft lease), pay rent under a schedule included in the lease, share certain event and ancillary revenues with the city, and pay applicable taxes, permits and impact fees. Developer representatives said the investment will total about $275,000,000 in improvements and is projected in the packet to support approximately 4,084 construction jobs and 513 permanent jobs after stabilization.

Dennis Scribe, counsel for the developer, said the plan "is going to be, an excellent project for the city" and highlighted guaranteed city use of the stadium for up to three days and seven days of guaranteed use for the Homestead Rodeo. Scribe and other project representatives also told the council they expect naming-rights revenue, hotel-room surcharges and ticket surcharges to be shared with the city.

Council members pressed for…