WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — RADD Sports was brought in to run the Wiregrass Sports Complex in Wesley Chapel.
But this week, the Pasco County Commission filed a notice of default that said RADD Sports isn’t doing the job the way they are supposed to.
“We were pretty shocked and blinded sided to find out about this drastic change with the county of Pasco was on the consent agenda. We weren't notified of this ahead of time,” said RADD Sports CEO Anthony Homer.
Pasco officials said RADD Sports is contracted to market the sports complex as a tourist destination.
The goal: bring in thousands of visitors to Pasco County that would stay in area hotels and spend millions at local businesses.
But in the complex’s first year, 2020, only 8 percent of events held involved out-of-towners, and only 26 percent of events last year.
There are still 18 years left on the contract between Pasco County and RADD Sports, but Pasco officials seem ready to turn management over to the county’s tourism department.
RADD said they want to work things out with Pasco County. Otherwise, they will take the county to court.
“We’ve got an 84% success rate with events coming back. They love to come back. They love this place. We’ve got 79,000 visits in ’21. 59,000 visits in ’22. We think we are doing a good job for Pasco County,” said Homer.
The county said it’s heard from people who tried to bring lucrative sports tourism events to the sports park, but RADD Sports was not helpful, even turning away a youth volleyball event at which alcohol sales are prohibited.
A Pasco County spokesperson said Friday that attorneys from both sides are in discussions.
