City manager brings unsolicited indoor sports-complex proposal; council directs feasibility work

City Manager Loyne introduced an unsolicited proposal from Card(en) Associates to evaluate converting Palms Park into an indoor multi-sports complex and mixed-use development, saying the project would require a substantial investment and a careful feasibility review.

Cole Peacock of Carden Associates described the team’s outreach and local partnerships, noting they had engaged local stakeholders. Peacock said the developer had tried to limit liabilities and fold community uses into the plan. "I am Cole Peacock for the record, and I'm here representing Carden Associates," he told the council. Billy Bonkafis, the firm's president, presented the scoping agreement and described an approximate eight-month program to study site, financials, and operations. "The scoping agreement before you was for about a little north of $400,000," Bonkafis said, explaining that feasibility work would be part of the scoping fee and that the firm structures payback once the project is funded.

Council members questioned how the project would affect Midtown green space and whether the CRA and parks staff had been consulted; Bonkafis said those discussions would be part of the scoping phase. Andy Card, founder and CEO of Card and Associates, urged school collaboration and estimated the developer could drive significant visitor traffic and hotel demand by renting school courts and staging tournaments. Council discussion focused on who would fund the study, the timeline for feasibility analysis, and preserving open green space. Several council members voiced support for moving forward with the feasibility study and directed staff to refine the unsolicited proposal and return it for formal consideration.